


Double Trouble

by MsBrooklyn



Series: Assembly Line (or Why It's a Lot Harder than Steve Thought to Recruit New Members) [12]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Jessica Jones (TV), Spider-Man (Ultimateverse), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Young Avengers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 22:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 77,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5683483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsBrooklyn/pseuds/MsBrooklyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy Kaplan's been having precognitive dreams about a twin brother he doesn't have and a woman who can't possibly be his mother.  Meanwhile, Magneto comes seeking an alliance with the Avengers.  He knows where to find Loki's scepter. It's in the hands of Baron von Strucker, who's using it to experiment on mutants -- two of which may be Magneto's own children.  Follow the Avengers and the After School Avengers as they unravel the secrets of the Scarlet Witch and Wiccan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:  Some of the most common questions I've been asked are:  Are you ever going to introduce Tommy/Speed?  But what about the Scarlet Witch?  How can Billy appear first?  What about Age of Ultron?  I figured if tackling the Clone Saga didn't kill me or send me into a catatonic state, I could try my hand at answering those questions -- all in one story.  It's taken me this long to figure out how to do it.  Hope you like the results.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
**Training Room - Avengers Tower**  
  
  
  
Barnes isn't even remotely tired and he's been sparring with the After School Avengers for nearly two hours.  Kate likes to go first and she likes to try taking Barnes down solo these days.  He's all for it.  She comes into each session with new strategies and clearly having practiced the techniques he's shown her.  More importantly, Barnes is certain that Kate _studies_ the videos of these workouts because she never goes down the same way twice.  And he's not holding back as much with her anymore.  She's up in the bleachers with the Spider-Twins, sporting some new bruises and cheering Teddy on as he comes at Barnes like a battering ram.  
  
Teddy is stronger and he's got unbreakable skin.  He relies on those two facts far too much.  Barnes lets the boy corner him, assessing how Teddy presses his advantage.  Teddy has a long way to go before he'll be able to take on Barnes.  Or even the Spider-Twins.  
  
Barnes easily vaults over Teddy, gives the kid a swift kick that sends him sprawling and then pins him.  "Ten reps of your Katas, kid.  You're not using what I'm teaching you and you should," Barnes says, letting Teddy up. "Petey, spot him and then go a round with him."  
  
Billy is over in the corner, finishing his warm up.  As always, he's the last to spar with Barnes and Barnes has a feeling the boy is harboring some vain hope that he won't have to spar at all.  It's more than obvious that Billy doesn't like to fight with his fists and he especially doesn't like being hit.  Or being knocked down.  Or thrown around.  
  
"C'mon, Wiccan, you're up," Barnes summons him.  He's been going easiest on Billy, taking him through the basics of self-defense.   "Ready to break some holds today?"  
  
"Sure," Billy says unenthusiastically.  He seems tired today, drawn and even a little pale.  
  
Barnes narrows his eyes. "You feeling okay?"  
  
Billy shrugs.     
  
"You want a pass today?" Barnes asks.    
  
"Let's just get this over with," Billy sighs.  
  
Shaking his head, Barnes comes up behind Billy and puts him in a hold. It's one they've been practicing for the last couple of weeks and this time, Barnes barely uses any strength.  The kid shouldn't have any problems breaking this one.  
  
"Go Billy!" Kate calls.  "Kick the Winter Soldier's butt!"  
  
Jessica cheers loudly.    
  
Billy bends forward and brings up his elbows but he forgets to hook his ankle around Barnes'.  He struggles, unable to break Barnes' grip.  
  
"What did you forget?"  
  
There's a pause and then Billy groans when he figures out his mistake.  "Sorry."  
  
Barnes decides to throw him a bone. "I'm going to come at you and I want you to flip me, just like we practiced.  You ready?"  
  
"Uh, okay."  
  
The boy isn't ready and it takes effort for Barnes to slow down and telegraph his moves.  He also makes a lot of noise.  His handlers would be horrified if they saw him doing this, even in a training exercise.  
  
Barnes charges.  
  
Billy raises his hands.  
  
Everything goes white.  
  
The next thing Barnes knows, he's flat on his back and Teddy is hovering over him, hands pressed over Barnes' heart and wearing a look of sheer terror.  
  
"Oh, thank God," Petey exclaims, peering over Teddy's shoulder.  "He's breathing."  
  
Did he stop breathing?  Did his _heart_ stop?  
  
Apparently it did.  
  
Petey nudges Teddy out of the way and leans over Barnes.  "You've got some pretty bad electrical burns and your heart stopped for, like, less than a minute.  Don't try to --  Bucky!"  
  
Barnes sits up.  He's had worse, way worse.  "Where's Billy?"  
  
"In the locker room," Teddy tells him.  "He's pretty upset."    
  
"I bet."  Barnes gets to his feet.  The burns hurt and he's grateful for his HYDRA conditioning that makes it possible to ignore the pain.  What he can't ignore are the scorched floorboards and the blown out lights.  "You kids do your reps while I talk to Billy and when I come back, you're all done for the day."  
  
Teddy blocks Barnes' path.  "He's sorry --"  
  
"Teddy, it was an accident.  He lost control."  Barnes pats the kid's shoulder.  "I'm not going to be even a little bit mean to him.  I promise."  
  
That earns him a smile.  "Thanks, Bucky."  
  
Billy hastily scrubs at his face when Barnes enters the locker room but he can't hide his red-rimmed, puffy eyes.  "I'm sorry.  I'm really, really --"  
  
"I know you are," Barnes tells him.    
  
"It won't --"  
  
"It _will_ happen again."  
  
"It _won't_ ," Billy protests.  "I-I'll do better.  Try harder."  
  
Barnes sighs.  "I can teach you to fight.  I can teach you to use weapons.  I can even teach you tradecraft.  What I can't teach you is how to use those powers.  I'm not equipped.  This facility isn't equipped."  
  
Billy looks crushed.  "A-are you kicking me out?"  
  
"No," Barnes says.  "I'm suggesting that this isn't the place for you.  Professor Xavier has equipment and a training facility that's specially designed for kids like you, Billy.  You can spar with kids who can do more than throw punches and --"  
  
"But I don't want to go away to school," Billy protests.  "I don't want to leave my parents o-or Teddy.  And what if I'm not even a mutant?  Thor said Teddy wasn't a mutant.  Maybe I'm not one either."  
  
Barnes suppresses the urge to sigh.  "A blood test'll tell you what you are, Billy --"  
  
"I don't want to be an X-Man.  I want to be an After School Avenger with my boyfriend."  Billy looks dangerously close to tears.  
  
"I can't train you properly.  I don't know the first thing about what you do or teaching you to control it," Barnes admits.  "Professor X does."  
  
"You don't know that for sure," Billy argues.    
  
"What I do know for sure," Barnes says firmly, "is that you can't control your powers and unless you do something about it, somebody's going to get hurt.  Maybe even killed."  Billy's heartbroken expression nearly does Barnes in and that's when he comes up with a solution.  "What if I talk to the Professor about scheduling some weekend sessions for all of us?  It'd do us good to spar against new blood, even me."  
  
"Okay," Billy relents.  He wipes his nose on his sleeve.  "I-I could try to heal you, if you want."  
  
There's no way in hell that's going to happen.  Barnes pats the kid's shoulder.  "I'll heal in a few hours anyway.  No need to worry about it, okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Good.  Because Barnes is worried enough for all of them.  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
**Locker Room #2**  
  
  
  
  
"Your powers are getting stronger," Teddy says quietly, as they get dressed in the locker room.  
  
Billy can't even look at his boyfriend.  "They're getting weirder."  
  
"What do you mean, weirder?" Peter asks.  
  
"If I tell you, will you promise not to say anything to Bucky?"  Billy is suddenly grateful that Kate and Jessica are in a separate locker room.  The fewer people that know about him possibly losing his mind, the better.  
  
Peter narrows his eyes.  "You zapped him with an electro-magnetic burst of energy that sent him flying across the room and stopped his heart. Don't you think he _should_ know?"  
  
Billy gnaws at his lower lip. "Teddy?"  
  
"Peter is right.  What if that was Kate instead of Bucky?"  Teddy asks.  "Or Clint?  You're part of a team --"  
  
"And trust me, you don't want to get disciplined like I did," Peter puts in.  
  
Billy rolls his eyes.  "Yeah, big punishment there.  You got a weekend at the beach."  
  
"I had to tell Steve and Bucky _everything_ and if you had any idea what it's like being me, you'd know that was the worst thing I've ever had to do."  Peter's shoulder slump.  "Also, I got stripped of my rank for a month."  
  
"Well, since I'm the lowest ranking member of the team, that's not really a big deal," Billy shrugs.    
  
Teddy folds his arms across his chest.  "Don't take your feelings out on Peter, Billy.  Tell us what's going on."  
  
"Y-you're going to think I've gone crazy," Billy warns.  
  
Teddy shrugs.  "We're not exactly the poster children for 'normal'."  
  
"I've been having dreams."  
  
Neither Peter nor Teddy look particularly impressed by this revelation.  
  
"I keep dreaming about my mother," Billy says and then the words come out of him in a rush.  "Except, she's not my mother.  She's this other lady and she's younger but she looks like me and she has an accent.  And...  I've been dreaming about my brother.  My twin. Tommy."  
  
Teddy looks confused.  "You're an only child."  
  
"I know.  And I wasn't adopted so Wanda couldn't possibly be my mother and I couldn't possibly have a twin, except I think I do."  
  
"Wanda?" Peter echoes.  
  
"That's her name.  Also, she's really young.  Like, almost our age."  
  
"They're just dreams, Billy," Teddy says, reaching for Billy's hand and squeezing it affectionately.  "I'll bet you're just having an SAT-related freak out."  
  
Billy wishes that were true.  "Some of my dreams come true and I've been having these dreams every night.  See why I don't want you to tell Bucky?  He'll think I've lost my mind and send me off to Westchester.  And the thing is, I don't think I've lost my mind.  I think I have a twin brother and my mother might not be my mother.  It _feels_ like it's true."  
  
Peter's eyes narrow in thought. "What if we prove it's not true?  Would you be okay with telling Bucky then?"  
  
"We already know it's not," Teddy protests.  "Billy's birth certificate --"  
  
"JARVIS can run facial recognition and prove that Billy doesn't have a doppelgänger out there."  Peter cuts his eyes to Billy.  "He's identical to you, right?"  
  
"His hair is white," Billy mutters.  He feels like an idiot admitting this.  
  
"Hey JARVIS?" Peter calls out.  
  
"Yes, Peter?"  Because, of course, JARVIS is everywhere in Avengers Tower.  "How may I be of help?  
  
"Can you show us what Billy would look like if he had white hair?" Peter asks.  
  
A hologram of Billy with white hair appears.  
  
Peter's eyes go wide.  
  
"What?" Billy asks.  "Do you know him?"  
  
"Uh, nothing," Peter lies.  
  
Teddy rolls his eyes.  "We know you're lying."  
  
"Okay, fine.  But don't blame me if you get offended when I tell you that you look like a young Magneto with white hair," Peter says with a shrug.  
  
"I do _not_ ," Billy protests.  
  
Peter folds his arms over his chest.  "JARVIS, do a comparison of Erik Lehnsherr with that image."  
  
"Holy crap," Teddy exclaims.  "You really _do_ look like him."  His expression turns thoughtful.  "You know, he's a mutant, too."  
  
"JARVIS, is there any way you could run a search to see if Billy has an identical twin, with or without white hair out there somewhere?" Peters asks.  
  
"That is a fairly broad search parameter," JARVIS tells them.  "However, it can be done.  Estimated time necessary: two point seven days.  Shall I begin?"  
  
"Please.  If it helps at all, cross reference the name Thomas or Tommy," Peter says.  He looks sternly at Billy.  "You've got two days before you have to come clean to Bucky about the dreams.  And remember, if you lose control like you did today, it's going to be all of our necks for keeping this a secret."  
  
"It's going to turn out to be nothing more than just stress," Teddy promises him.  "You'll see."  
  
Billy hopes Teddy is right.  
  
But he has a feeling, deep down, that Teddy is horribly wrong.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000000  
  
  
**Midtown High School**  
  
  
  
Mr. Edelman is droning on about Iago and Othello and Peter's thoughts keep going back to the hologram of Billy with white hair yesterday.   Billy is probably a mutant.  Magneto is definitely a mutant.  The resemblance was nothing short of freaky and Peter is sure it wasn't his imagination, no matter what Teddy said.  He has no idea what any of it means and maybe Bucky wouldn't be able to make sense of it either, but Peter knows he'd feel better if they told him.    
  
He knows from experience what happens when he withholds information from Bucky.  And the rest of the team.  That's the other part he's not comfortable with but Billy and Teddy insisted on not telling Kate or Jessica unless JARVIS actually finds Billy's imaginary twin, Tommy.  
  
Peter has no doubt this is all going to hit the fan with a spectacular splat.  
  
Suddenly, Peter is aware that Mr. Edelman has stopped talking.  In fact, he's looking at Peter expectantly.  
  
Mary Jane's elbow shoots out and she points to the loudspeaker on the wall.  "You need to report to the Office," she hisses.  "And take your stuff."  
  
The Office is the main office, where the administrative office and the principal's office are.  Being summoned there can only mean trouble.  
  
Peter hastily stuffs his books into his backpack and hurries out of the classroom, his mind racing.  Is it Aunt May?  Bucky?  Steve?  He leaps down the flight of stairs from the third floor to the second without regard for his secret identity and moves quicker than he should as he runs to the Office, flinging the door open.  
  
And there, because his name was spoken, is the Devil.  
  
Magneto himself.  He's dressed in civilian garb, a dark grey cashmere overcoat over a suit and he's even wearing a hat.    
  
Mrs. Schaeffer, who runs the Office with an iron fist but who treats all the kids as if they were her own, gives Peter a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Peter."  
  
Peter stares at her and tries to figure out just what the heck is going on in his life this time.  
  
"Your grandmother loved you."  Magneto gathers a stunned Peter into a hug, presses a kiss to his cheek and then whispers in his ear. "Play along, boy, and you'll be much happier for it, I assure you."  
  
There's not much choice, really.  If he fights Magneto here and now, Magneto could easily bring Midtown High down around them.  Also, Peter would totally out himself to anyone who doesn't already know he's Spidey.  All two of them.  
  
He sighs and follows Magneto out of the building and into the street.  
  
It's not even a surprise when Magneto grabs Peter's arm and flies them up onto a rooftop a few blocks away.  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" Peter asks.  
  
"Is that really what you want to ask when I've gone through such trouble to secure a conversation with you?" Magneto counters.  
  
"Well, yeah," Peter shrugs.  "It'd be nice to know that when I send you back _this_ time, I won't have to do it again on Friday."  
  
Magneto narrows his eyes.  "The only reason you were able to best me was because I had no wish to destroy you.  Don't press your luck, boy."  To make his point, he raises his hand and blue-white electro-magnetic energy crackles menacingly.  
  
Peter's eyes go wide but not with fear.  With curiosity.  "Were you always able to do that?"  
  
"It came with time and practice," Magneto tells him.  
  
"Can you show me that again?"  Since he's dealing with the world's scariest mutant, Peter gives him puppy dog eyes and adds, "Please?"  
  
Magneto actually does it again.  
  
Peter's almost positive that Magneto's electro-magnetic energy is identical to Wiccan's.  He suppresses a shudder at the thought.  "Thank you, sir."  
  
"I have no wish to be your enemy, young man," Magneto says and Peter thinks he probably believes every word he's saying.  "In fact, I come seeking your assistance with a rather delicate matter."  
  
" _You_ need my help," Peter says dubiously.  "Why would I help you?  You tried to kill me and all my friends the last time I saw you."  
  
Magneto smiles.  "If I really wanted to kill you, Peter, you'd be dead.  As for your friends, well... Stranger alliances have been forged for lesser reasons."  
  
"Alliances?"  
  
"I wish you to arrange a meeting with your good Captain."  
  
"A meeting about what?" Peter asks stubbornly.  There's no way on earth he's _not_ going to tell Steve about this.   Like immediately.   And he'll probably spill the beans about Billy, just in case because he's got the oddest feeling that this isn't a coincidence.  What this feels like, really, is the Ol' Parker Luck in action.  
  
"You'll understand my reluctance to discuss the matter with you."  
  
"Aw, c'mon Grandpa Magneto," Peter wheedles.  "Won't you tell me a story?"  
  
Something resembling a wistful expression crosses Magneto's face for the barest fraction of a second.  "For once, the danger is not from me, child, and I've no wish to expose you to it.  I will, however, share this much with you.  My goals and the Captain's are aligned.  The artifact he seeks is in the hands of a madman who would tear apart the fabric of reality.  Tell him this and tell him I wish to speak with him in this place at this time tomorrow.  He may bring the Soldier if he chooses."  
  
Peter stiffens. "You're not going anywhere near Bucky, pal --"  
  
"You have my word that I won't harm him."  A faint smile hovers over Magneto's lips. "Though I could easily, with his metal arm and reinforced skeleton."  
  
"Don't you even think about it!"  
  
"I have given you my word."  And with that, the overcoat ripples and shifts into the more familiar costume.  Magneto reaches out and ruffles Peter's hair.  "The Soldier is fortunate to have such a fine boy."  
  
With that, he rises into the air.  
  
Peter watches him go and wonders how much trouble he's in _this_ time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
  
  
  
**Steve's Apartment - Avengers Tower**  
  
  
  
  
Steve is in the heavy-headed, thick state between being asleep and awake, listening to the soft-yet-insistent chime of JARVIS trying to bring him all the way awake. "'M up.  Whassit?" Steve slurs.  
  
"Peter urgently needs to speak with you, Captain Rogers.  He is outside your apartment, awaiting entry."  
  
"Timezit?"  
  
"One-forty pm, sir."  
  
That wakes Steve up.  "It's a school day, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  And in response to Steve's unspoken question, JARVIS adds, "There are no scheduled service days or half-days for today at Peter's school."  
  
"Let him in."  Steve sits up, now acutely aware of the aches and pains from the team's latest failed mission to find Loki's missing scepter.  The silver lining was that they managed to take out yet another HYDRA R &D facility and recover some files for Tony to decrypt that may lead to the scepter and maybe give them a better idea of what HYDRA is doing with it.  Even though the team arrived home after 3 in the morning, Tony went straight to the lab to begin the process of decryption while the rest of them either got patched up or went to bed.  
  
Steve was among those who needed to be patched up.  
  
He's a mass of aching super muscle, with a gun shot wound to his side and a broken collarbone and two broken fingers. And he's got the mother of all headaches from his concussion.  
  
With a grunt Steve pulls himself to his feet, takes a longer time than he'd prefer getting into the bathroom and putting himself together.  When he emerges, Peter is sitting on his sofa, looking anxious.  "Why aren't you in school?"  
  
"My grandfather got me excused."  
  
It takes a beat for Steve to digest that statement. "Haven't all of your grandparents passed?"  
  
"I have a new one," Peter says, his mouth twisting bitterly.  "Magneto."  
  
"Magneto?"  
  
"Don't ask."  
  
"I _need_ to ask."  
  
"I know but I really can't explain it."  Peter bounces to his feet and flaps his arms in frustration as he paces the length of Steve's living room.  "I mean, there I was in English class and the next thing I know, I'm being summoned to the Office and Mrs. Schaeffer tells me she's sorry for my loss because apparently, in addition to lying about being my grandfather, Magneto lied and told her he was there because my grandmother just died.  Who does something like that?!  I'll tell you who!  A total freaking nutball.  Like, the nuttiest nutball off the nutball tree --"  
  
"Peter."  
  
"And he _kissed_ me!"  
  
"What!?"  
  
Peter's face scrunches into a disgusted expression.  "He gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek.  Right there.  In the Office.  In front of Mrs. Schaeffer."    
  
"Well --"  
  
"Isn't there supposed to be security in our schools?" Peter demands, scrubbing at his cheek with his hand.  "I mean, anybody can walk in off the street and abduct kids --"  
  
"Peter--"  
  
"It's just --"  
  
"Peter!"  
  
Peter's eyes go wide.  "Oh.  Sorry."  
  
Even though he can't lift his left arm, Steve raises his right and massages his temple, careful not to jostle his splinted fingers.  "What did he want?"  
  
Peter sighs.  "He wants to meet with you tomorrow."  
  
"He wants what?"  Maybe this is a hallucination.    
  
"To meet with you.  Tomorrow.  He said something about knowing where to find some artifact you're looking for."  Peter narrows his eyes at Steve.  "Is that what you guys were doing?"  
  
"That's classified, Peter," Steve says gently.  "Sit and tell me exactly what happened and exactly what he said."  
  
With a sigh, Peter drops back down onto the sofa and takes him though what was obviously a strange conversation.   When he's finished, he stares down at his sneakers.  "There's something else and I'm not even sure one has anything to do with the other.  It's just a hunch really but I think --"  
  
"Peter."  
  
"--there's something fishy going on."  The boy looks up.  "Don't get mad, okay?"  
  
"Peter..."  
  
"I know I promised not to keep things from you and Bucky --"  
  
"Peter!"  
  
"But it was only going to be for two days," Peter finishes hastily.   "And now it's less than one and I'm going to break my promise to Billy on top of that."  
  
"What does Billy have to do with Magneto?" Steve asks, confused.  
  
Peter gnaws at his lower lip.  "JARVIS?  Can you show Steve that comparison you showed me yesterday?"  
  
An image of Billy with white hair appears next to an image of Magneto.  The resemblance is uncanny.  
  
It's also impossible.  
  
And then Peter launches into an even more confusing explanation of events of the day before.  "I-I know most of it is conjecture but the electro-magnetic energy burst kind of adds a little weight to the whole descendant of Magneto thing."  
  
Steve is still stuck on the idea of Bucky's heart stopping, even for a few seconds.  "I had no idea Billy's powers were that dangerous or out of control."  
  
"I don't think any of us did, except for Bucky."  
  
"And you believe Billy has a twin out there somewhere?"  
  
Peter shrugs.  "Billy says he has dreams that come true.  Precognition is often a combination of telepathic and empathic abilities."  He catches the look on Steve's face and hastily adds, "That was in one of Professor X's monographs.  He suggested I read it so I could understand more about my Spidey sense.  That's a form of precognition."  
  
That actually makes sense.  "But we have no proof about Billy having telepathic or empathic abilities."  
  
"We really don't know _how_ his powers work.  He won't let Bruce or Tony run tests.  All we have is the data JARVIS gathers and my field notes --"  
  
"You're studying your teammate?!"  Not that Steve _should_ be surprised...  
  
"Oh come on, Steve.  Billy is _fascinating_!  He defies the laws of physics."  Peter claps a hand over his mouth and blushes fiercely.  "Uh, am I in trouble?"  
  
"For studying Billy?  No.  And not for holding back information either.  You would have told us and that's a far cry from where you were just a little while ago," Steve tells him.  "Just be prepared for Bucky's reaction --"  
  
"Wait, we're telling Bucky?!"  
  
"Peter."  
  
"He's going to want to confront Magneto and it's too dangerous!  Can't we tell...uh... Thor instead?"  Peter blinks and then forges ahead.  "Thor's actually a great backup for you, Steve.  His lightning could potentially overload Magneto into unconsciousness and --"  
  
"Bucky needs to be told," Steve tells him firmly.  "Even if the information about Billy is just conjecture at this point."  And then he adds, "But yes, Thor is definitely a good choice."    
  
Peter scratches at the back of his neck.  "Uh..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Bucky's going to be pissed when he finds out I'm not in school."  
  
"Yes, Peter, he is.  Brace yourself."  
  
Steve, on the other hand, isn't sure he can brace himself for whatever is coming.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
**One Very Long Hour Later**  
  
  
  
  
It's not Petey's fault.    
  
It _isn't_.  
  
But these things just _always_ happen to the kid.  
  
_Always_.  
  
The kid even has a name for it.  
  
'The Ol' Parker Luck'.  
  
And frankly, Barnes thinks, it actually makes a sick sort of sense for the endless series of shit that keeps happening to the kid.  Not that _that_ makes it any easier for Barnes to handle.    
  
He storms out of the elevator and into the common area where Petey is quietly sitting doing his homework.  
  
At Barnes' approach, Petey's head shoots up and he looks like a deer in headlights.  "Uh...hi."  
  
Barnes hauls the boy to his feet and immediately starts giving him a once-over, looking for any injuries that he may have managed to hide from Steve.  He hears Steve and Thor coming up behind him and he ignores them until he's satisfied that Petey is physically unharmed.  Then he turns and glares at Steve.  "I'm going to find that magnetic asshole and --"  
  
"Buck --"  
  
"Tear him to pieces," Barnes finishes and yes, he knows that's his usual vow whenever someone threatens Peter.  It doesn't make it any less effective.    
  
"It's more likely he'd tear _you_ to pieces," Steve says, giving Barnes' cybernetic arm a pointed look.  "Peter, what would happen if Bucky goes up against Magneto?"  
  
"Uh..."  Petey swallows and shifts uncomfortably, avoiding Barnes' eyes.  "Well, if he tore off Bucky's arm and the bone grafts, uh... The, uh, shock and blood loss would kill him in under two minutes."  
  
"Which is why Thor is joining this discussion," Steve says firmly.  "Among other reasons.  Let's take this conversation to the small conference room."  
  
"I am pleased to see you are well, my friend," Thor greets Barnes.  He reaches out with a massive hand to pat Petey on the head.  "And that you have borne up well considering the day's trials."  
  
"The day's not over yet," Petey mutters.  
  
Barnes reaches out, snags Petey by the collar and hauls him to his side, slinging his arm protectively across the boy's shoulders.   "You've caused enough trouble for one day, don't you think, punk?"  
  
Peter heaves a put-upon sigh.  "It wasn't my fault!"  
  
"It never is," Barnes tells him, rolling his eyes.  
  
They take their seats around the conference room table and Steve settles across from Peter instead of standing at the head of the table.  "Peter, I want you to brief Thor and Bucky."  
  
"M-me?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"But --"  
  
"Go on."  Steve points to the head of the table.    
  
Ten minutes later and one bizarre briefing later, Barnes is gripping the table so hard that a chunk comes off in his hand.  He grunts and tosses it underneath the table while he tries to digest the meeting with Magneto and the information about Billy.  
  
Peter drops into the seat next to Barnes.  "Um, Steve?  Can you tell us what the artifact is?"  
  
"No," Steve starts to answer but Thor talks over him.  
  
"It is the scepter used by my brother, Loki during his misguided attempt to conquer this realm.  We were told it was safeguarded by SHIELD only to find that it has fallen into the hands of HYDRA to be put to nefarious purpose," Thor says.  "Our attempts to recover it thus far have met with failure."  
  
Steve shoots him a look.  "That was classified, Thor, and not for Peter's ears."  
  
"The young warrior has already been drawn into the fray.  He should know the stakes."  
  
"Um, what does it do?" Peter asks.  "The scepter, I mean."  He shifts uncomfortably in his seat.  "I'm guessing it's not just some ceremonial thing, right?"  
  
"We do not know the full extent of the scepter's power," Thor tells him.  "Loki used it as a weapon and as a means of mind control.  He also used it to open a rift across the realms."  
  
Barnes blinks.  "And _HYDRA_ has it?"  
  
"I am afraid so, my friend."  
  
" _HYDRA_ ," Barnes repeats.  "The same people responsible for..."  He gestures at himself.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"And you didn't think to mention this to me, Stevie?" Barnes asks.  
  
Steve looks pained.  "It's classified, Buck."  
  
"Magneto said the person who has it is a madman who wants to tear apart reality," Peter says.    
  
"Baron Wolfgang von Strucker," Steve says, looking steadily at Barnes.  "He was one the top ranking members of SHIELD's science division.  He was also a HYDRA mole who stole the scepter for his own uses.  There are rumors of him using the scepter for human experiments --"  
  
"Experiments on mutants," Peter corrects him.  "Magneto wouldn't care otherwise."  
  
Barnes narrows his eyes.  Von Strucker's name sounds vaguely familiar and he's sure if he dwells on it, unpleasant memories will surface.  Nothing having to do with HYDRA scientists could be anything _but_ unpleasant.  
  
"Um..." Peter says.  "Wiccan can do locator spells --"  
  
"Wiccan can't control his powers and if he taps into whatever this scepter is..." Barnes trails off and looks at Thor.  "It could be bad if he screws it up, right?"  
  
Thor shrugs. "I do not know enough about young Wiccan's abilities but if he cannot control them, I would not recommend him attempting to establish a connection to the scepter."  
  
Barnes stares hard at Steve.  "I don't trust Magneto."  
  
"He's... a complex man, Buck.  Whatever differences he's had with Charles and the X-Men, they've set them aside over the years when the need arose."  Steve smiles tightly.  "Naturally, Magneto always has an ulterior motive but he can be a valuable ally when there's a larger problem."  
  
"I don't trust him," Barnes says, shooting a look towards Petey.  
  
"Which is why Thor will be accompanying me and you'll be watching over Peter."  
  
"You're supposed to meet him at 11:30 in the morning," Peter says.  "I'm going to be in class."  
  
"You'd better be," Barnes warns him.  
  
"Which is why you'll be making sure," Steve grins.  His expression turns serious again.  "We're going to operate on the assumption that there's no connection between Wiccan and Magneto for now unless JARVIS tells us otherwise.  Peter, your orders are to _immediately_ notify first Bucky and then me of the results of JARVIS' search.  You are also to notify us if Magneto approaches Billy or if Billy can't control his abilities in the field.  Bench him, if necessary.  Am I clear?"  
  
"Yessir," Petey recites dutifully.  
  
Barnes slants a look in his direction.  "You deviate from those orders one iota and I will ground you until the next century, Petey."  
  
"Yessir."  
  
Thor ducks his head to hide his smile.  
  
Barnes doesn't have the heart to tell the Norse god about the Ol' Parker luck.  
  
The poor bastard is going to learn about _that_ soon enough.  
  
  
  
  
##############

Now, before someone inevitably criticizes me about Thor not knowing about the Mind Stone, I suggest you re-watch AoU.  Nobody knows the source of the scepter's power is the Mind Stone until Ultron breaks the protective housing and removes it. 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

###### Author's notes:  I blended Magneto's MCU history with the brilliantly written and incredibly poignant Magneto Testament for his backstory.  I took just a touch of creative liberty in Magda's backstory because it's the lynchpin to my creative explanation of Wanda and Pietro.  I realize this may offend some purists but then again, Magneto's bio has been re-written and retconned so many times, hopefully you can get past it.  #########

 

 

 

Chapter 3  
  
  
  
  
**Forest Hills, Queens - Up on the Roof**  
  
  
  
  
It's not hard to find the rooftop where Magneto is waiting.  Not from the air.    Thor easily carries Steve's weight and lands with grace that belies his stature.  If Magneto is at all awed by the sight of the Asgardian, it doesn't show.  He is, however, polite.  
  
"Thank you for coming."  Magneto is doing his best to dispel any impression that he's here to fight.  Instead of his helmet and caped uniform, he's dressed in a sweater and slacks, looking every bit the grandfather he pretended to be.  "Both of you."  
  
"How could I resist your invitation?" Steve counters, "Especially when you went to such trouble to extend it to my son?"  
  
There's the faintest flicker of surprise in Magneto's eyes at Steve's use of the word 'son' and then he nods in comprehension.  "My apologies, Captain.  I had no other way of reaching you and you have my word that I mean the boy no harm whatsoever.  That is, in fact, the reason I insisted that this meeting be held while he was in class.  I also apologize for disrupting his studies, though truly, you should consider sending him to study with Charles.  The boy's intellect is wasted in that substandard institution.  Charles can ensure he's sufficiently challenged."  
  
It takes effort for Steve not to clench his jaw but it gets easier when he notices the way Thor not-so-subtly toys with Mjolnir.  "I assume you didn't ask me here to discuss the merits of Peter's education."  
  
Magneto flashes the barest self-deprecating smile.  "No, Captain.  I asked you here to discuss mine."  He reaches for the left sleeve of his sweater.  "You no doubt are aware that I am called Erik Magnus Lehnsherr."  With a glance at Steve, Magneto lifts his sleeve to reveal a series of numbers tattooed on his forearm.  A concentration camp tattoo.  "I was born Max Eisenhardt, a Jew, in Nuremberg, Germany in the year 1926."  
  
"That's impossible," Steve protests.  The man doesn't look a day over sixty.  
  
"I assure you, Captain, it is true.  Much to my everlasting regret."  Magneto rolls his sleeve down.  "My father was a watchmaker who fought in the German Army in the Great War and my mother had been a cellist.  My sister, Ruth..."  His voice takes on a decidedly German accent.  "First came the Nuremberg Laws, then Kristallnacht, then the murder of my uncle as a race defiler.   We fled to Warsaw, to my mother's family only to find ourselves going from bad to worse.  The Jews of Warsaw were rounded up and confined to the Warsaw Ghetto where we died of disease, starvation and misery.  And then..."  Magneto closes his eyes.  "They shipped us off to the camps.  Treblinka.  Bergen-Belsen.  And, in my case, Auschwitz.  I was fifteen years old."  He opens his eyes and steadily meets Steve's gaze before addressing Thor.  "As a Jew, I should have had a Bar Mitzvah to celebrate becoming a man when I turned thirteen but... Well, rabbis were in short supply by then and we were too afraid to observe our own traditions.  The day I passed through the gates of Auschwitz and read the words 'Arbeit Macht Frei' was the true day I became a man.  My father, mother and sister were sent to the left to be gassed and I... to the right.  That was the day my power manifested itself, not that it saved anyone.  Least of all me."  
  
Steve exchanges looks with Thor.  He knows from past conversations that Thor is more than familiar with this particular period of Midgardian history.  
  
"He called himself Klaus Schmidt," Magneto bites out, "Dr. Klaus Schmidt.  A Nazi scientist who focused his attention on prisoners like myself who displayed unusual abilities."  His gaze hardens as he looks Steve in the eyes.  "No, Captain.  It is not a coincidence.  I found out years later that Johann Schmidt -- Herr Red Skull -- _invented_ Klaus' identity as his cousin and supported his experiments.  I will spare you the details of my treatment at Schmidt's hands and of my duties as Sonderkommando, cleaning up his messes.  I _will_ say that among the handful of other prisoners was a Gypsy girl, Magda, who it was said could foretell the future.  By the time Schmidt was through with her, all Magda could see was death.  And all I could see was her."  
  
Thor finally lowers Mjolnir to his side.  
  
"When the Russians liberated us, we told them we were married so that we would not be separated when they moved us to the displaced persons camp.  From there, we tried to find a life together and put the past behind us under the new Soviet state.  We tried simple country life and then life in the city of Vinnitsa.  And we found happiness in the form of a daughter.  Anya."  Magneto's voice softens.  "I worked as a laborer in a sheet metal factory, Magda kept our home and around us, the bitter seeds of anti-Semitism continued to bear fruit.  Anya burned to death when our home was firebombed during a pogrom.  And I... I unleashed my full powers for the first time since Schmidt.  I razed our section of the city to the very ground and I slaughtered every last man.  Madga, of course, fled when she realized she was married to a monster."  His eyes close again and he inhales deeply.  "I searched for three years and found her grave on Wundagore Mountain in Transia.  It was there the witch Bova told me that Magda died giving birth to twins and had used her own mutant abilities to send the twins to safety.  In the future.  Wanda and Pietro were lost to me.  Madga was gone.  All I had left was vengeance and so, I became a very, very successful Nazi hunter while I turned the Earth upside down looking for Schmidt.  That, however, is a tale for another day.   Today, I have found my lost children.  They are in the hands of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and like Schmidt before him, he is performing unspeakable experiments on mutants using the alien's scepter."  
  
Steve lowers his cowl and rubs the back of his neck.  "I have to ask.  Why are you telling me this?  Why not Charles?"  
  
Magneto meets his gaze.  "You already seek the scepter and you are also hunting von Strucker, both of which are connected to SHIELD.  Charles is loath to cross paths with SHIELD, even indirectly and even at the cost of mutant lives.  I have no such misgivings, especially in the face of an organization that sprang out of the Nazis."  He absently rubs at his left arm.  "What I've told you today, I've only told in bits and pieces to Charles and never my true name.  I share it with you, Captain, as a show of good faith and a demonstration of trust."  
  
"You don't look a day over sixty," Steve says.  
  
"A final gift from Magda, perhaps.  Or my own abilities.   Or even the experiments conducted upon me when I was a boy."  Magneto shrugs.  "You understand my reluctance to be poked and prodded further.  And to be fair, you're still quite a young man yourself though you're my contemporary."    
  
In another life, Steve thinks, he might have been friends with this man.  And he finally understands the strange and complex relationship between Magneto and Charles.  
  
Thor's gaze ticks from Steve to Magneto and then back again.  "You say you know where von Strucker is.  You say you wish to show us your good faith and trustworthiness.  Then _I_ say, by all means, tell us and _then_ you will have my support to do battle at my side."  
  
"Do you agree with this, Captain?"  
  
Steve considers the question and nods.  "Yes, Magneto, I do."  
  
"Von Strucker is performing his experiments at a stronghold in Sokovia."  Magneto gestures and his clothes shimmer, changing shape and color until they're the familiar uniform.  "And, please, call me Erik."  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
  
**On Another Rooftop in Forest Hills**  
  
  
  
  
"Well," Matt says, "he's not lying.  About any of it."  
  
"That's nice to know," Clint murmurs and Matt can tell _he's_ lying.  "Right, Nat?"  
  
"You know how much I love allying myself with people I don't trust so..."  She shrugs and Matt gets a slightly more intense whiff of her shampoo.  
  
Behind them Bucky is completely still.  His breathing is measured, even and his heartbeat is steady.  It doesn't fool Matt for a second.  Bucky doesn't trust Magneto, particularly because of the way the man approached Peter.  Matt doesn't blame him in the least.  
  
"Aw, Cap, no," Clint groans and then says for Bucky's benefit, "They're taking Magneto back to the Tower to go over strategy.  C'mon, gang.  Traffic's a bitch at this hour."  
  
Matt catches the faintest shift in Bucky's position.  "Want me to stay with you and keep an eye on Peter?"  
  
"You've got your own twin to watch over," Bucky tells him, "but I appreciate the offer."  He shifts again and the plates in his arm adjust with the movement.  "Nat, I'm trusting _you_ to keep an eye on Steve."  
  
"What about me?" Clint asks.    
  
"Keep an eye on Clint, too," Bucky says and there's the faintest touch of laughter in his voice.  "His spider-kid can take care of herself, especially since she hasn't started running around the city doing anything crazy."  
  
"Yet," Matt corrects him.  "It's in the blood, I think."  
  
"Yeah," Bucky agrees.  "Give her time.  She's already callin' herself Spider-Gwen."  
  
Clint groans.  "You're really gonna jinx me like that?"  
  
"It's not a jinx, Barton," Bucky chuckles.  "It's called the Ol' Parker Luck."  
  
"On top of Clint's already notoriously lousy luck?" Natasha laughs.    
  
"Hey!"  Clint protests.  "My luck isn't lousy.  Stuff just... happens."  
  
"Of course it does," Matt agrees with a smirk.  "Like your upcoming field trip to Sokovia with your new bestie, Magneto."  
  
"You're not coming with?" Clint asks.  "C'mon, lil Devil.  You're an Avenger.  Come travel with us to foreign countries, meet interesting people and --"  
  
"Kill them?  Not my style.  Besides, someone's got to help Bucky keep the ASAs under control."  
  
"Wait.  Barnes isn't coming to Sokovia?  Isn't taking out HYDRA bases kind of his thing?" Clint turns towards Bucky.  
  
Matt is pretty certain that Natasha just rolled her eyes.  
  
Bucky sighs and flexes his left arm, setting off a rhythmic clicking as the plates shift with the change in position.  "Cybernetic arm and Magneto aren't a winning combination, Barton.  And as Steve insisted on reminding me, I don't have Wolverine's healing factor."  
  
"If it's any consolation, Barnes," Nat tells him.  "The Ol' Parker Luck and whatever trouble the ASAs can get themselves into while we're gone should keep the two of you plenty busy."  She pats Bucky's shoulder.  "In fact, Clint and I are probably going to have a much easier time of it than you will."  
  
Matt hates to think that Natasha is right.  
  
But then again, she usually is.  
  
Damn it.  


 

#######  Some last words.  A number of you have left me comments asking whether I'm going to include this or that character or this or that storyline.  Unless you see the character or plot point explicitly mentioned, the answer is not in this story or not yet in this story.  I'm not giving any spoilers away on this one because it is such a friggin' challenge to make sense of this mess.  It's actually _worse_ than making sense of the Clone Saga.  Thanks as always for your understanding and for continuing to read. #########


	4. Chapter 4

  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
  
**Midtown High School - Forest Hills, Queens**  
  
  
Today has been one of the longest days of school ever.  Or at least, that's how it feels to Peter because he's here and Bucky and Steve are out _there_.  With Magneto.  Since students are prohibited from using their cell phones during school hours and if they're caught, the phones get confiscated, Peter has no way of knowing what happened.   So instead of knowing, he's left to using his imagination and Peter has had _hours_ to imagine every worst case scenario and all the ways to make the worst case scenarios even _worse_.  By eighth period, Peter is a nervous wreck who isn't paying attention at all while his teacher drones on and on about the Reformation.  
  
Mary Jane keeps shooting him looks.  
  
Peter keeps obsessing.  
  
When the bell _finally_ rings, signaling the end of eighth period and the end of Peter's day, Mary Jane has to run to keep up with him as he rushes to his locker.  
  
"Peter!"  
  
"Gottagoi'llcallyoulater," Peter tells her, yanking his backpack out of his locker, shoving his books inside and slamming the locker shut.  He races down the hall, down the stairs and through the front gate while struggling to put his jacket on.     
  
Bucky is waiting.  
  
Peter flings himself at Bucky, throwing his arms around him and exhaling in relief.  "Oh, thank God you're okay."  
  
"Except for you just knocking the wind out of me, punk, I'm fine," Bucky tells him, giving Peter a quick affectionate squeeze.  

"Is Steve okay?  A-and --"  
  
"Petey, do you really want to have this conversation in front of all your classmates?"  
  
"Oh."  Peter finally lets go of Bucky and sees Mary Jane watching with a knowing smirk on her face.  She rolls her eyes at him.  "Uh, no.  No, of course not."  
  
Bucky beckons MJ with a crooked finger.  "C'mon, you two."  
  
"You're a dork," Mary Jane tells Peter.  "But you're a dork whose heart is in the right place."  
  
"I can live with that," Peter decides.  
  
The walk home is filled with Bucky's usual questions about Peter's day and Peter answers as noncommittally as possible so Bucky doesn't find out how much of a space-case Peter was today.  
  
Of course that doesn't work.  
  
Bucky stops dead in his tracks to narrow his eyes at Peter.  "Did you pay attention in class at all today, punk?"  
  
"No," Mary Jane answers for Peter.  "He didn't even pay attention during lunch."  
  
"I ---"  Peter begins.  
  
"Did you _eat_ the lunch I packed for you?" Bucky demands.  
  
"Um..."  
  
"No," Mary Jane tells Bucky.  "He took a couple of bites, then said he wasn't hungry."  
  
Bucky closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose.  "How many times do we have to go over what happens if you don't eat properly, Petey?"  
  
"I --"  Peter attempts.  
  
"You're going to eat everything I put in front of you when we get home," Bucky orders Peter.  "Every.  Last.  Bite.  And when you're done, _then_ I'll brief you about what happened."  
  
"But --"  
  
"You really think you're going to win this argument?"  
  
"Mary Jane didn't finish her lunch either."  So there.  
  
Bucky raises an eyebrow and stares hard at Mary Jane.  "Is that right?"  
  
"Have you ever seen what the cafeteria serves us?" she counters.  "The macaroni and cheese was like a brick."  
  
"Fine," Bucky decides.  "You're getting a healthy snack too."  
  
Mary Jane elbows Peter sharply and whispers,  "What'd you do that for?"  
  
"So I wouldn't have to go down alone."  
  
"You kids realize I have enhanced hearing, right?"  Bucky takes hold of both of their upper arms and tugs them down the street towards Peter's house.  He eyes Peter and then Mary Jane.  "You also realize I've been learning how to cook."  
  
"He has," Peter tells Mary Jane.  "He's also been reading up on gardening."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Seriously," Bucky confirms.  "We're planting vegetables come spring because what the supermarket charges for substandard produce should be illegal.  And then there're all those chemicals they get treated with."

"Matt's been teaching Bucky about that," Peter explains.

"We're also gonna spruce up the front yard," Bucky goes on.  "Plant some annuals and perennials.  Aunt May'll like coming home to that."

Mary Jane snorts out a laugh.  
  
"Something funny, baby doll?"  
  
"Farmer Winter Soldier," she laughs.  "The two of you are such dorks.  I love it!"  
  
Peter will never admit it out loud, but he does too.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Avengers Tower**  
  
  
  
  
Steve can list all the reasons why bringing Magneto to the Tower is a bad idea.  Then again, Charles routinely lets the man into his mansion and around his young students.    And it isn't as if Magneto couldn't launch an attack from the outside as well as from the inside of the Tower.  Not that he seems so inclined.  
  
In fact, he's been quiet for the duration of their flight from Queens to Manhattan.   The helmet he insists on wearing obscures his face but this time, Steve thinks the reason for that is far less nefarious than it would be in other circumstances.  Magneto -- Erik -- is worried.  Steve, who only has slightly more experience than Erik at being a parent, completely understands.  Even if Erik hasn't met his children yet.  
  
Tony is waiting on the Tower's landing pad.  He's not wearing armor but he is holding a gun that Steve immediately recognizes as being made of plastic.  "Welcome to my home, Magneto."  
  
"Thank you, Mister Stark," Erik says smoothly, as if he doesn't have a weapon pointed at him.  He removes his helmet and holds it out to Tony.  "You may wish replicate this technology and integrate it into your armor and into similar defenses for the rest of the team.  My sources inform me that von Strucker has a pair of telepaths in his stable of tame mutants."  
  
There's a pause while Tony's gaze ticks to Steve who nods his approval and only then does Tony take the helmet.  "So you what?  Lined it with tinfoil to keep the voices out of your head?"  
  
Erik barks out a laugh.  "Something like that."  
  
Tony lowers the gun and raises the helmet, peering inside.  "This works?"  
  
"Charles cannot read nor influence me when I wear it and you'll agree that he is quite formidable, won't you?"  
  
"Huh," Tony says.  "You sure you can part with it long enough to let me tinker?"  
  
"If we are to succeed in Sokovia, I must."  Erik looks at Steve.  "Loath as I am to submit to tests of any kind, I will do so if you require me to continue to prove my good faith."  
  
Tony's eyes light up.  "Steve?  Those readings could prove invaluable."  
  
Steve agrees but there's mission planning to be done and he still has plenty of questions for Erik.  No doubt the rest of the team will, too.  "Later."  He nods towards the helmet.  "Replicating that tech is a priority, Tony."  
  
"If that means I don't have to sit through one of your endless 'planning' sessions..."  Tony grins and steps aside to let them into the Tower.  "JARVIS, set up a room for Magneto --"  
  
"Erik."  
  
"Set up a room for Erik," Tony corrects.  "Model it after Steve's.  I think he'll like that."  He glances over his shoulder before hurrying into the elevator.  "Thor, make sure Erik here enjoys his stay."  
  
"Of course," Thor rumbles, shooting a loaded look in Erik's direction as take the stairs down to the common area.  
  
If the lack of trust bothers Erik, he doesn't let it show.  Instead, he inclines his head in acknowledgement and once again, his clothes shimmer and transform back into a simple sweater and slacks.  He reaches into his pocket and produces a thumb drive, holding it out to Steve.  "Mystique has infiltrated von Strucker's base and she compiled this information for me on security and operations.  It is as complete as she could manage without arousing suspicion."  
  
Steve takes the thumb drive, wondering how Erik managed to avoid damaging it when he used his powers.  It's a mystery he can ponder later.  Right now, he wants to see what information Erik brought.  He's familiar with all of Stark's protocols when it comes foreign devices and he can't say he disagrees. "JARVIS, I need a port and a security scan."  
  
JARVIS slides down a wall panel, exposing ports of varying sizes and shapes.  "Ready when you are, Captain Rogers."  
  
Sliding the thumb drive home, Steve doesn't bother waiting for the results.  "When you've completed the scan, upload and analyze the data.  Let me know when you're done."  He turns to Erik and Thor.  "We're waiting for JARVIS and also for Clint and Natasha.  Can I offer you some coffee or tea?"  
  
"That's most kind," Erik answers.  "I would very much like some tea."  
  
"The green tea is most excellent," Thor suggests, displaying the manners that Steve imagines he's used countless times holding court on Asgard.  "It is a blend that Tony has specially prepared.  I highly recommend it."  
  
Erik inclines his head.  "Who am I to argue with a god?"  
  
Thor flashes a grin.  "Then I shall prepare it for you personally."  He claps Erik on the back a bit harder than he should, a friendly warning.  "I'll leave you in the Captain's care."  
  
"I eagerly await your return."  
  
Steve peels back his cowl and runs a hand through his hair.  "JARVIS, ETA for the rest of the team."  
  
"There is a multi vehicle accident on the Grand Central Parkway.  Estimated time of arrival is forty minutes."  
  
"Thank you."  He turns to Erik and gestures to the sofa and chairs.  "Make yourself comfortable.  It appears we have a bit of a wait."  
  
Erik selects a chair and settles into it.  "Will the Soldier be joining us?"  
  
"Not this time."  
  
"A pity."  He waits for Steve to take a seat.  "I had hoped to meet the man who led the mission to liberate the Kauen transit camp.  You know of this, yes?  It occurred while you were filming those horrid little movies."  
  
"I found out later," Steve admits.  "And even then the reports were highly redacted."  
  
"The news reached us, even in Auschwitz.  It gave us hope that the Americans hadn't turned a blind eye to us."  Erik stares hard at Steve.  "And then we heard of the miraculous Captain America.  We believed in him after we stopped believing in God.  The children prayed to him as they died of starvation and disease. Tell me, Captain, did you know?"  
  
Steve's gut twists.  This is something he's talked about with Bucky, late at night when they couldn't sleep both then and now.  "In the beginning, no.  The SSR kept me focused on taking down HYDRA.  Later... every request I made to storm the camps was refused.  We were never stationed close enough for me to disobey orders and liberate a camp.  I think Colonel Phillips did that deliberately.  Unfortunately, he's dead and I can't ask him."  
  
Erik nods as he considers this answer.  "Thank you.  I've wondered about that for many years."   He crosses one knee over the other.  "I apologize if I caused you discomfort with my question."  
  
"It's a question you have every right to ask.  I'm sorry I didn't have a better answer."    
  
"Will you pass my respect on to the Soldier?"  
  
"He may not want to hear it.  He's Peter's other father."  
  
That draws a laugh from the man.  "The boy may yet be a mutant if he's able to evoke such strong, paternal feelings from the pair of you."  Erik sobers.   "As we heard rumors of Captain America, so too did we hear rumors of the Red Skull.   His men were known to us and they came often to observe Schmidt's experiments.  Some of them would participate or run their own tests.  Since I learned of Sergeant Barnes' fate, I've wondered if perhaps I might likewise have become a HYDRA weapon."  He sighs.  "I try not to dwell on such thoughts, especially not when HYDRA has done just that to my children."  
  
"Wanda and Pietro."  Steve tests out the names, even as he recalls that Wanda is the name of the woman Wiccan believes to be his mother.  He's still not sure if he believes in the idea that Magda had the ability to send her children into the future but if Wiccan's abilities are any kind of yardstick, then it isn't impossible.    
  
"Named for Magda's parents," Erik tells him.  "Anya was named for Magda's sister."  He scrubs a hand over his face.  "I'm not used to talking so much about myself.  Perhaps Peter gets that from you."  
  
It's almost too easy to forget being at Erik's throat mere months ago.   Or watching Erik going after Peter and Jessica with a loading crane.  In fact, it takes a lot of effort to summon up anything resembling anger.  "You really do need to stay away from him.  If anyone can figure out how to overcome having a metal arm and take you out, it's Bucky."  
  
That earns him a smile.  "And he is very protective of the children.  Charles was too in the beginning.  We lost too many of them for him to get that close again. Still, those early days were quite something.  I'm sure Charles has told you about them."  
  
"Not in great detail," Steve admits.  "I'd like to hear about it."  
  
"Well then," Erik begins, "you'll find the tale quite interesting because the first enemy we fought as a team was Klaus Schmidt, only by then he was going by the name Sebastian Shaw..."

***********

 

Now that I'm active on Tumblr, I noticed that I seem to be popping up in a number of feeds.  Like, a lot of feeds, actually.  So if that's because of any of you, THANK YOU so much!!!!!  You totally made my day (especially since I've got the mother of all sinus infections going on)!  You can find me at #MsBrooklynfanfic

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
  
  
**Hell's Kitchen - Matt Murdock's Apartment**  
  
  
  
  
"They're keeping something from us," Kate says.  She's pacing the living room and wearing an irritated expression.    
  
"After the last time?" Jessica counters.  "Peter wouldn't dare."  
  
Kate stops pacing and considers Jess's point.  "Maybe but Billy and Teddy might."  
  
Gwen snorts and flops back on the sofa.  "Yeah, the two gay guys and Peter formed the he-man woman haters club in the locker room just to keep you two out."  
  
"You weren't there," Kate shoots back and narrows here eyes as she adds, "And you should have been."  
  
"How many times are we going to argue about this, Bishop?"  
  
"As many times as it takes for you to put the costume on and come out with us, Stacy."  
  
"It's a pretty cool costume," Jess chimes in.  "I like the hood."  
  
Kate beams.  "Thanks.  I thought that was a nice touch."  
  
"Then why don't you give Jessica the damn costume?" Gwen snaps.  
  
"Because she already has one."  
  
"I do," Jess agrees.  
  
Gwen rolls her eyes.  "I don't know why I come here and put up with this from you two maniacs."  
  
"You're Spider-Gwen, chica.  That's why."  And that, Kate thinks, is that.  It's a matter of time before Gwen gets tired of pretending she doesn't stick to walls and have enhanced strength. "Besides, who else are you going to bitch to about Clint?"  
  
"Clint's fine.  It's that damn bra-eating dog of his."  
  
Jess tries not to laugh and fails miserably.  
  
"It's not funny," Gwen snaps but her lips are twitching.  "Okay, the time Clint was home and saw it?  That _was_ funny."  She cuts her eyes over to Kate.  "He's going off on some damn mission again."  
  
"He just got back," Kate says.  
  
Gwen shrugs.  "Life as an Avenger."  
  
"Well," Kate says firmly, "speaking of life as an After School Avenger, I'm serious about the locker room confab. The guys were in there way too long.   And did you notice how guilty they were acting after?"  
  
"No."  Jessica leaps up and starts climbing the wall.  "Billy and Teddy couldn't get out of there fast enough.  Peter _was_ acting kinda weird but then again, Bucky got zapped but good."  
  
Kate purses her lips and thinks for a minute.  "Jess, you know Peter.  You _are_ Peter --"  
  
"I'm _not_ Peter!"  
  
"Fine," Kate relents.  "They made you out of Peter. Which means you can tell better than anyone except Mary Jane when he's hiding something.  Was he hiding something?"  
  
Jessica drops to the floor in a crouch and Kate realizes she was trying to cover for Peter.  "Yeah.  But don't ask me what."  
  
"Why don't you two dorks just go ask him?  Or go ask Billy and Teddy?" Gwen says.  "Seriously.  Sitting around Daredevil's house and bitching about how the friggin' boys are keeping secrets from you?  What's next?  Trying to infer hidden meaning from crap they said and crap they didn't say like in some lame movie?"  She points at Jess. "You have super powers."  Then she points at Kate.  "And you're a super bitch. Are you really gonna sit here and be some chick flick cliche are or you gonna go and get your answers?"  
  
"If we go," Kate tells her, "you're coming with us."  
  
"I have to go home and walk the dog."  
  
"The dog walks himself.  Hell, he's smarter than Clint."  
  
"This is true."  
  
"So?"  
  
Gwen narrows her eyes.  "No."  
  
"Why not?  You've got super powers and a fancy healing factor."  Kate knows she's this close to badgering Gwen into putting the costume on.  And once Gwen does it, she's never going back.  
  
"Hello, have you seen your lives?" Gwen demands.  "Slime monsters, crazy-ass Norse gods who body swap you or whatever on Halloween, goblin dudes, aliens and freakin' HYDRA.  I don't want to deal with that insanity."  
  
"You live with Clint," Kate points out.  "You already do."  
  
"Besides, have you even tried web-slinging?  Or seen the view from a skyscraper?" Jessica asks.  "It's like flying.  Better than flying.  Because it's you.  All you."  
  
Gwen makes a face.  "What if I miss?   Then it'll be all me all over the street."  
  
"You have spider-sense, right?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"You won't miss."  Jessica picks up the box with the costume. "But if you do, I'll be right there to catch you."  
  
Kate isn't gay but she could kiss her best friend on the lips right now.  
  
Gwen takes the box and shoots a quelling stare at both of them.  "If my ass looks fat in this thing, you're both going down."  
  
They wait for her to disappear into the bathroom and then they exchange high fives.  
  
With Gwen on their side, the truth is going to come out.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Billy Kaplan's Apartment - Billy's Room**  
  
  
  
  
"You seem distracted."  
  
"No, I'm not," Billy lies.  He and Teddy are on his bed, in the early stages of an mid-afternoon make out session.  His parents are still at work and won't be home for another hour and a half at least.   Teddy's shirt is off and usually _that's_ all the distraction Billy needs.  
  
But not today.  
  
Today all he can think about is whether JARVIS found anything.  
  
He should never have agreed to let Peter coordinate the search and then share the results.  
  
"I should never have agreed to let Peter handle everything."  
  
Teddy sighs and pulls his shirt on.  "So?  Call JARVIS and over-ride the request."  
  
"I tried that.  It didn't work."  Billy pulls a face.  "JARVIS said it's because whatever the news is, Peter wants to deliver it in person."  
  
"So?  Call Peter."  
  
"I can't _call_ Peter."  
  
"Sure you can.  You have him on speed-dial."  
  
"If I call him, Bucky will overhear."  Billy rolls over onto his back and sighs heavily.  "Stupid super soldiers and their stupid super hearing.  And he already thinks I'm unstable."  
  
Teddy groans and flops down next to Billy, reaching for his hand.  "He thinks your _powers_ are unstable.  Not you.  That's why he told you not to use them."  
  
"He wants me to go be an X-Man."  
  
"You'd look really cute in one of those outfits."  
  
"That's not even a little funny."  
  
"I'm not joking."  Teddy squeezes Billy's hand.  "Bucky said he couldn't give you the training you need.  Don't you think that took a lot for him to admit?  That's kind of like admitting failure and all that stuff we read about him said he wasn't allowed to fail."  
  
"We should never have read those files."  Billy screws up his face.  "Even though it was all on the Internet, it felt so... private."  
  
Teddy raises their joined hands to his lips and kisses Billy's knuckles.  "That's because you like Bucky.  And if you respect him, maybe you should think about respecting his opinion."  
  
"He's going to set up sessions in Westchester --"  
  
"You need more than a weekly sparring session."  
  
"I don't.  I just... I need to find my mom and Tommy."  
  
Teddy sits up, releasing Billy's hand.  "You say that like you think they're real."  
  
"You say that like you think they're not."  Oh God.  Is he about to have his first fight with Teddy?  With everything else that's gone wrong this week, Billy doesn't think he could handle that, too.  "You've seen what I can do.   You know better than _anyone_.  You know all the stuff I can do that nobody else knows."  
  
"Why haven't you told them about --?"  
  
"Me being able to read minds sometimes?  You think they'd like knowing I can't control _that_ either?"  
  
"What about the telekinesis?"  
  
"Teddy --"  
  
"Billy."  
  
"Teddy."  Billy sighs.  "I'm scared, okay.  All this stuff I can do?  It's not like I try to do it or I know I _can_ until it happens."  
  
"Do you trust me?" Teddy asks softly.  
  
"More than anyone I've ever known."  
  
"Then trust me when I tell you that Professor Xavier may be the only one who can help you figure out what you can do.  You don't have to be an X-Man.  You don't even have to enroll there.  But at least talk to the man.  The guy deals with people who have all kinds of weird powers and he does it every day."  Teddy leans over and kisses Billy's forehead.  "I'll go with you. If you have to stay there for a while, I'll stay with you." He kisses the tip of Billy's nose.  "And don't be afraid of Bucky or our friends.  With me by your side, there's nothing to be afraid of."  
  
Billy blows out a relieved breath.  "I thought we were going to have a fight."  
  
"If we did, we could have made up."  
  
"We still can."  
  
That, Billy thinks, is the best suggestion he's heard all day.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Forest Hills - Peter Parker's Kitchen**  
  
  
  
  
Barnes knows he's a little bit obsessed about Petey's eating habits.  Steve likes to say that Barnes was obsessed with whether Steve ate properly back in the old days.   There's a part of Barnes that believes his obsession also comes from the way HYDRA controlled him through nutrition.  Whatever the reason, if left to his own devices, Petey's eating habits are atrocious.  Now that Barnes is in the picture, the kid is less pale and actually has a little meat on his bones. He doesn't look like a stiff breeze would blow him over, at any rate.  
  
"I'm stuffed," the kid declares.  
  
"Me, too," Mary Jane agrees.  "Bucky makes a mean grilled cheese."  
  
Petey gathers up the plates and starts washing them.  Of course he does.  He never needs to be told.    
  
Mary Jane dries.  And of course she does.  She's a peach, that kid.  
  
When the dishes are put away, Petey turns and leans against the kitchen counter.  "Okay, I ate.  I cleaned up.  Are you going to tell me what happened?"  
  
While Barnes hasn't been exactly dreading it, he's been trying to digest the conversation between Stevie and Magneto all afternoon.  He's still not sure what to make of it, other than the entire historical context makes the skin between his shoulders itch uncomfortably.  "Sit."  
  
Peter sits and takes Mary Jane's hand.  
  
She reaches out and takes Barnes' hand.  The metal one.  
  
Barnes' gaze ticks down at their joined hands and then back up to Mary Jane's eyes.  He starts to reach out with his right hand but she just grips his left more tightly.  The sensors let him feel the pressure and register the warmth.  
  
"We love _all_ of you," Mary Jane tells him.  "So stop being self-conscious.  If you had a peg leg instead, we'd love you just as much."  
  
"Don't you even dare mention that to Stark, Petey," Barnes warns, even as he can feel his cheeks burn slightly at the affectionate words. "He'd make one just to mess with me."  
  
Peter mimes zipping his lips.  
  
Barnes turns to Mary Jane.  "I'd never hurt you on purpose but this arm was meant to be a weapon.  That's how I was trained to use it.  I'm still learning how to do normal stuff with it."   He considers mentioning the first time he tried to flush a toilet and decides that's best left unsaid.  Maybe some other time, when it won't mortally embarrass him.  "That's part of the reason I'm learning to cook.  It's good practice and if I accidentally crush the bones of the chicken I'm about to roast..."  
  
"You only did that once," Peter insists.  
  
"You won't hurt me."  
  
"Not on purpose.  Promise me if I start to squeeze, you'll speak up."  
  
"I promise," Mary Jane says solemnly.  "But I know you won't."  
  
Barnes pats her hand with his right one, takes a deep breath and then tells them about Stevie's conversation with Magneto.  
  
Peter listens intently and Barnes can see the boy turning each new piece of information over in his mind.  When Barnes is finished, he asks, "Did you have JARVIS fact check?"  
  
He gives himself a mental head slap for not thinking of that himself.  "No, but I bet he's already done it.   Steve and Thor's comm links were on the whole time.  And Matt said he wasn't lying."  
  
"Magneto didn't kill their comms?"  Peter pulls out his cell phone.  "That's... unusual."  He's about to use the voice command for JARVIS and then pauses.  "He said his daughter's name was Wanda, right?"  
  
Barnes wants to believe it's a coincidence.  But what he wants and the truth are two different things.  "Yeah."  
  
"Hey JARVIS?"  
  
"How may I help you, Peter?"  
  
Before Peter can answer, Barnes hears the triple thumps on the roof and the telltale sound of Petey's bedroom window opening.  "Kate, Jess and Gwen are here."  
  
The girls stroll into the kitchen just as Billy and Teddy appear.  
  
"I've located a young man with identical facial features as Billy," JARVIS announces.  "His name is Thomas Shepherd."  
  
Billy's mouth drops open.  "You did?  Really?"

"Wait a second," Kate says.  "What --?"

"I have a twin brother!"  Billy throws his arms around Teddy and kisses him.  "I'm not crazy!"

"You have a twin brother," Teddy agrees.

"How the hell do you have a twin brother?" Kate demands. 

"I have no idea," Billy shrugs.  "But he's out there.  He's in...uh...JARVIS, where is he?"  
  
"He's in Springfield, New Jersey in an ATCU facility," JARVIS says.  "Mr. Shepherd caused massive property damage to his school.  The nature of the incident is highly classified.  It will take several more hours for me to access that information."  
  
"What's the ATCU?" Peter asks.  
  
"The ATCU is the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, a newly created government agency authorized by the President.  It's mandate is to neutralize extra-human threats, per the President's Executive Order."  
  
"Extra-human threats?"  Peter repeats.  
  
"Who oversees this agency?" Kate demands.  
  
"Henry Peter Gyrich."  
  
Mary Jane's eyes narrow.  "Wasn't that the guy in DC who wanted you to give up being Spider-man and be the new Bucky?"  
  
"Say what?" Barnes says, turning to Petey.  "You never mentioned that."  
  
"I wasn't going to do it," Peter mumbles.  "I mean, after Steve said that I couldn't get you a Presidential pardon or immunity or anything if I agreed.  Anyway, it didn't matter.  Nobody brought it up again after that Winter Soldier snuggles thing."  
  
Barnes is grateful that he let go of Mary Jane's hand because he's clenching both fists so tightly that the plates in his left arm are resetting rapidly.   "You get a pass," he says finally. "Steve is the one who's in trouble for not mentioning this to me."  He takes a deep breath and forces himself to focus on the more immediate issue.    
  
Specifically, Billy apparently has a twin in shady federal custody and their mother might actually be Magneto's daughter.  
  
"JARVIS, I want everything you've got on the ATCU, this facility in Jersey and the Shepherd kid," Barnes orders.  He turns to Billy and then eyes each kid in turn.  "You're all gonna do what I say, when I say it and how I say it.  Got me?"  
  
"A-are you going to break Tommy out?" Peter asks.  
  
"If I don't, what're you going to do?"  
  
"Something stupid," Kate answers for Peter.  "Like trying to do it ourselves.   And if we weren't here, what would _you_ do, Bucky?"  
  
Barnes flashes a feral grin. "Somethin' stupid, like busting the kid out and going after that Gyrich asshole.  Ain't it lucky for all of us we're in the same place at the same time?"  
  
Lucky.  
  
As in the Ol' Parker Luck.  
  
That shit is contagious.  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
  
**Avengers Tower - Common Area**  
  
  
  
Here's what Clint knows about Magneto:  the guy believes in mutant superiority and he's a dangerous sonofabitch.  That's why Clint's mind simply cannot process the visual of Magneto, Steve and Thor sitting around the common area drinking tea like they're old friends.  Even Natasha draws up short.   Once Clint gets past his initial shock, he starts listening to what Magneto is saying about the Cuban Missile Crisis, for God's sake.    
  
"And that was where Charles and I parted ways," Magneto concludes.  "For the first time."  
  
"And that," Clint interjects, "is the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard.   There are no records of this Shaw guy being involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Steve, you've read the history books.  Don't you dare tell me --"  
  
"JARVIS," Magneto rumbles, cutting off Clint.  "Do you have a record of a CIA agent named Moira MacTaggert?"  
  
"I do, Mr. Lehnsherr," JARVIS responds.  
  
Magneto locks stares with Clint.  "Are there psychological assessments in the period following October 28, 1962?"  
  
"There are."  
  
"Do these assessments have anything to do with Agent MacTaggert's memory loss during the Crisis?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Thank you, JARVIS.  Confirming the rest is up to you, gentlemen.  Charles will speak of what he did with regret, no doubt.  He took memories and destroyed records to cover up the existence of mutants in an attempt to forestall the inevitable.  If anything, Charles merely delayed it for a decade."  Magneto's jaw clenches.  "In 1974, SHIELD acquired certain intellectual property from Trask Industries.  JARVIS, could you perhaps locate a series of autopsy reports on mutants captured and dissected from the period between 1963 and 1973?  In particular, Sean Cassidy, Angel Salvadore, Emma Frost and Azazel?"  
  
"That will take a few moments, sir."  
  
"Thank you, JARVIS."  Magneto's gaze ticks to Steve.  "Will you also share with the team any and all records pertaining to Trask's Sentinel Program?"  
  
"Are you leading the team now?" Clint demands, hands on hips.  He narrows his eyes and stares hard at Steve.  "Are you letting him lead the team?"  
  
Steve shakes his head.  "Settle down, Clint."  
  
"Settle down?  We're harboring a dangerous mutant terrorist who tried to kill us not too long ago!"  
  
Magneto sighs.  "It was not my intent to fight you at all, Hawkeye.  I was attempting to protect a mutant child and put a stop to Owlsley's mutant growth hormone trade."  
  
"You could have come to us then," Steve points out.    
  
"But no," Clint goads him, ignoring the daggers Nat is staring at him.  "You chose to traumatize Spider-kid and antagonize the whole team."  
  
"I presumed you were all SHIELD's lackeys," Magneto tells Steve.  "And I've just told you what happened when Charles foolishly trusted the CIA.  You know that it's a matter of time before your government realizes that they don't hold your leashes and turns on you, too.  In fact, they're already considering a proposal for registration.  I don't need to tell _you_ what happens after that, do I?"  
  
It's a sad day when _Magneto_ makes sense.  
  
"I asked JARVIS to locate records on the Sentinel Program because your friend Baron Von Strucker is studying them," Magneto goes on.  He glances over at Clint. "You are no doubt familiar with the Sentinels, Agent Barton.  Your Nick Fury was very fond of the technology."  
  
"He never used it!"  Clint protests.  
  
Natasha elbows Clint sharply in the ribs, a warning to shut the fuck up.  
  
Magneto leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers under his chin.  "I've often wondered if the super soldier serum isn't merely mutant growth hormone stabilized by the Tesseract."  He lets the comment hang, making sure everyone in the room understands he's read all of the leaked SHIELD files _thoroughly_.  Both Thor and Steve tense.  "Von Strucker is apparently of the same school of thought when it comes to using alien technology on mutants, both to augment their abilities and to weaponize them in MGH to make his forces unstoppable.  As you know, MGH is itself unstable and its effects even more so.  Ordinary weapons wouldn't be enough to neutralize an out of control experiment.  Even HYDRA's experimental weapons may not be enough.  For that, Von Strucker needs Sentinels."  
  
Clint knows where this is going, knows exactly which path Magneto is leading Steve down.  
  
And Steve follows.  "Clint, what's a Sentinel?"  
  
All eyes are on Clint now but it's Natasha who answers.  
  
"It's tech dating back to the Seventies, designed to neutralize mutants."  
  
"Like those Spider-Slayer things Fury made?" Steve asks.  
  
"Exactly like that, Captain," Magneto tells him.  "And not unlike Project Insight at all, which targeted mutant and human alike."  He gets to his feet.  "Those are the stakes and _that_ is why I have come to you.  I believe there is not one of us in this room who has been allied with an enemy at one time to defeat an even greater threat.  Von Strucker is that greater threat."  
  
Steve stands up.  "JARVIS, have you finished reviewing the contents of the drive?"  
  
"I have, Captain Rogers, and I've taken the liberty of indexing and sharing that information with Sir and Dr. Banner.  The data is awaiting your review."  
  
"Terrific.  Tell them both to meet us in the conference room.  It's time to go to work."  Steve shoots a loaded look in Clint's direction.  
  
Clint smiles at Natasha.  
  
It _isn't_ the first time they've worked with someone they don't trust but it _is_ the first time they've partnered with someone this dangerous.  
  
It's a good thing the two spies on the team know how to look at all the angles.  
  
  
  
0000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Forest Hills, Queens**  
  
  
  
  
Barnes isn't a spy and he doesn't know how to look at all the angles.  He knows how to plan an infiltration but there's a bigger picture here and that's the part of the planning the Winter Soldier was never allowed to participate in.  He needs Steve but Steve is busy planning a mission of his own with the rest of the Avengers.  That leaves Matt.  
  
Because while Barnes may not have all his marbles, he's not crazy enough to plan an infiltration of a highly secure government prison with a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids.  Even Kate, who he's sure will be able to make those kinds of plans one day.  
  
Matt's a good guy and damned smart to boot but he's never planned an op like this.  Barnes trusts him to ask good questions and challenge Barnes' conclusions.   The thing is, Matt is as inexperienced as the kids in a lot of ways.    
  
Barnes needs one more voice of reason.  
  
Someone who's not afraid of challenging him.  
  
Someone who will tell him without a moment's hesitation to go fuck himself.  
  
Someone like Jessica Jones.  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Hell's Kitchen - Office of Alias Investigations**  
  
  
  
  
Death is waiting for me when I come back from the unpleasant task of telling a mother that the son she hired me to find is dead.  He's sitting behind my desk, with a fresh bottle of bourbon in front of him.  The office is dark and he's illuminated by the street light coming in from the window.  He flicks on my desk lamp.  "Hi, Jones --"  
  
"Get the fuck out," I tell him, just like I've told him the last two times he showed up.  
  
Barnes shakes his head.  "This ain't a social call.  This is business."  He pulls a stack of cash out of his jacket and drops it on my desk.  "I know you've got clients lining up since that shit went down on the docks but I'm hoping you'll clear your calendar for me."  
  
"You have a job?  Fine.  Mention the docks again, ask me how I'm doing or say the fucking words 'Kilgrave' or 'purple' and you're out on your ass."  I gesture to the door with its new glass window that reads 'Alias Investigations'.  "You make me break that and I'm gonna be really pissed."  
  
"Jones, it's obvious how you are and I'm not here to compare scars or have a 'who's more fucked up' contest with you," Barnes shoots back.  "This is about a kid being held in some government facility--"  
  
"Why can't Stevie help you?"  
  
"Stevie's busy with something else.  With the rest of the Avengers."  
  
"And Pete?"  Shit.  I just let Spider-man's name slip.  I'm dead.  
  
" _Peter_ ," Barnes corrects me but doesn't even bat an eyelash at my use of the kid's name.  "You're gonna see him later if you agree to do this and you're gonna meet the rest of the ASAs too."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"After School Avengers."  He comes out from behind my desk, stuffing both hands into his pockets in what I figure is an attempt to appear non-threatening.  As if.  "They're nice kids but they can't plan an op --"  
  
"I'm a private investigator, Barnes!  I can't plan an op either."  
  
"Between you, Daredevil and me, I think we've got a shot of putting a plan together."  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a superhero?" I demand even while I'm wondering if I'll find out once and for all whether Daredevil is really Matt Murdock like I think he might be.  
  
"As many as you want, Jones.  I'm not asking you to play superhero.  I'm asking you to help me figure out what the hell I need to do."  Barnes sighs heavily.  "The infiltration piece is easy.  For me, anyway. But there's more to this and...  I need you, Jones.  You know how to put information together in ways nobody else I know can."  
  
"Fine," I relent.  And just to test my theory, I ask, "Are we meeting Matt now?"  
  
Barnes' lips curve into a smile.  "You want to know Daredevil's identity, you're going to have to get it from him.  The only reason you know Spidey's is because I let it slip."  
  
"You let half his name slip.  The rest was easy.  How many Peters go to Midtown High?"  I ask.    
  
"So you know where I live."  
  
"I know _how_ you live," I counter, thinking of the two story colonial with its yellow siding and white trim and a shit-ton of Christmas decorations when I drove past that one time.  "You live like a soccer mom.  Do you walk Petey to school?"  
  
"Sometimes and sometimes I walk him home, too."  His eyes bore into mine.  "I trust you with that information, Jones.  The kid might not feel the same way.  He's skittish about sharing his identity."      
  
"What about the rest of the kids on your team?"  
  
Barnes pulls out his phone.  "There's one in particular we need to talk about first.  His name's Billy Kaplan."  
  
I look down at the picture.  Kaplan's a nice looking kid.  
  
"This is his twin, Tommy Shepherd.  Up until three hours ago, nobody knew he existed."  
  
"That's the kid in the government facility."  
  
Barnes nods.  
  
"So Billy didn't know he was adopted," I shrug.  "Or that he had a twin.  It happens."  
  
"I'm sure it does."  Barnes hits me with a Cheshire Cat smile.  "Except Billy's parents are his birth parents.  And this..."  He advances to another picture.  "This might be the twins' grandfather."  
  
"Holy shit!  That's --"  
  
"Magneto."  
  
I reach for the bourbon.  "Okay, it makes a little sense then.  Whoever the mother is, she doesn't want Magneto to know about them so she altered the records.  It happens more than you think when there's a surrogate or a shady adoption --"  
  
"Rebecca Kaplan gave birth to a healthy son.  Her husband Jeff recorded the whole thing."  Barnes takes the bottle from me and helps himself to a healthy swig.  "Something else you need to know about Billy.  His code name is Wiccan."  
  
"As in --"  
  
"Teleportation, shooting electromagnetic energy from his hands and God only knows what else.  He hasn't told me everything but I've seen him turn Kate's arrows into balloons during a training session."  His gaze is heavy, serious.  "The only word for what he does is magic."  
  
I can't help smirking when I think about Barnes wearing a spandex Spidey costume and having Spidey's powers on Halloween thanks to magic.  
  
He rolls his eyes at me because he knows what I'm thinking.  
  
"Who's Kate?" I ask, just to get us back on topic.  
  
"Hawkeye."  
  
"I thought Hawkeye was a guy and an Avenger."  
  
"He is.  She's Hawkeye too.  Don't ask. That's one mystery you'll never solve."  
  
I know even before I boot up my laptop that I'm going to regret taking this case.  The stack of money on my desk is a thick one and it's all hundred dollar bills.  I slide it back to Barnes.  "Your money's no good here, Barnes."  
  
He opens his mouth to argue, seems to think better of it and nods.  "How about I get us another bottle and some burgers while you do your thing?"  
  
"And a side of Daredevil?" I ask, because I'm not stupid.  Not by a long shot.  
  
"He'd be real insulted if he heard that, Jones.  The man's positive he's a main course."  
  
"Hard to disagree."  I start typing in one of my search programs.  "I've seen his ass in that devil outfit."  
  
Barnes rolls his eyes and lets himself out.  
  
Daredevil's ass has nothing on Barnes' ass in a spandex Spidey suit.  
  
But the biggest ass in this room is the one who just agreed to take a case involving a magic mutant kid, his twin, fucking Magneto and a shady government prison alongside a vigilante in a devil suit and brain-damaged assassin and a bunch of teen heroes.  For fucking _free_.  
  
I must be out of my goddamned mind.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
  
  
  
**Hell's Kitchen with Burgers and Bourbon**  
  
  
  
Matt's gotten used to Bucky Barnes' comings and goings in Hell's Kitchen.  Sometimes the man will stop and say hello.  Other times, he's...well, worked up, for lack of a better term, when he leaves Jessica Jones' office.  It isn't Matt's place to pry.  
  
Tonight is a 'hello' night and apparently, Barnes brought...cheeseburgers?  
  
"Got a sec?" Barnes asks.  
  
The burgers are from the Shake Shack which, to Matt's relief, is one of the few places he'll actually eat from.  He counts two super-soldier sized portions in the bag Bucky is holding.  There's another bag.  From L &L Liquors.  Bourbon.  Matt puts the pieces together and concludes that Barnes is having a late night snack with Jessica Jones.  
  
"Sure," Matt tells Barnes.  He's already guessing the direction of this conversation.  With the Avengers going out of town, Barnes probably wants a hand with the ASAs.  His Jessica -- not Jones -- mentioned some sort of training accident but wouldn't go into details.  
  
"How do you feel about working with Jessica Jones?"  
  
"I work with her all the time," Matt answers carefully.  "I have her on retainer --"  
  
"Yeah," Barnes cuts him off and there's a touch more Brooklyn in his voice than Matt's used to hearing, "I know but that's not what I'm asking.  How do you feel about going out in the field with her?"  
  
"Out in the field," Matt repeats, not because the question wasn't clear but just to buy himself some more time to try to figure out what's going on this time.  
  
"With Jones."  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"A thing."  
  
Matt cocks his head to the side and stands, fists on hips, facing Barnes full on.  "You've been spending far too much time with teenagers.  If you want me to do a thing in the field with Jones, you're going to have to be more specific.  Especially when I get the impression that whatever this thing is, you're going to ask me to share my identity."  
  
"Hey, you want it to be awkward and shit, that's on you," Barnes shrugs.  "But if you wanna hear what the thing is, follow me."  With that, Barnes leaps easily to the next rooftop and takes off at a run.  
  
With a sigh, Matt lets him go and takes the shortcut to Jessica Jones' office.  It involves cutting through an empty warehouse and up a fire escape.  He arrives at the same time Barnes does and flashes a smug smile as he gestures for Barnes to lead the way down the air shaft.  
  
"Booze, burgers and a side of Daredevil," Barnes announces, opening the door to Jones' office.  "Just like you asked for, Jones."  
  
There's a gesture that Matt assumes is Jones flipping Barnes off.  Matt's tempted to flip off Barnes himself for the side dish comment.  
  
"Hey, Matt," Jones calls out.  
  
"Excuse me?" Matt focuses on her breathing and heart rate and concludes that the use of his name was a fishing expedition, nothing more.  
  
"Oh for fuck's sake."  She gets to her feet and stomps across the floor to where Matt is standing, coming to a stop directly in front of him.  "Just about the same height.  Same chin stubble.  And only a blind man would wear an outfit that stupid."  
  
"Jewel," Barnes coughs.  
  
"How did it feel ordering _hamburgers_ instead of 'liberty sandwiches', Barnes?" Jones shoots back.  "And hey, were you okay paying eleven bucks apiece instead of a nickel for 'em?"  
  
Oh.  Dear.  God.  His Jessica would be more mature than these two idiots if she met a girl she liked.  
  
"Give it up, Murdock.  You were in a chemical spill, I was in a chemical spill and here we are, with whatever super powers we have, being dragged into some Magneto bullshit with Bucky friggin' Barnes."  
  
"Magneto bullshit?" Matt echoes.  "I thought _Steve_ was dealing with the Magneto bu -- uh, matter."  
  
"See?  He talks just like a lawyer," Jones says.  "Go on, Barnes, fill Matt in on the Magneto bullshit.  And you know I'll be paying attention to see how Matt responds to the visual aids you showed me earlier."  
  
"She's not going to tell anybody," Barnes puts in.  "Are you, Jewel?"  
  
"Fuck off, Barnes."  
  
Matt is getting mental whiplash from listening to these two maniacs.  He knows for a fact that Jones doesn't wear a costume and doesn't call herself 'Jewel' but he supposes she must have at one time for her to get so pissed when Barnes brings it up.  Still, there's nothing Matt hates more than sharing his identity.  Peter is the perfect example of what happens when too many people know that information.  The thing is, Jessica Jones _is_ trustworthy even if she's a little scary when she's around Bucky Barnes.  Mind made up, he peels back his cowl.    
  
"Fine," Matt announces.  "Now can somebody tell me about the Magneto bullshit before I kick both your asses?"  
  
Not for the first time and probably not for the last, Matt curses the day he let Steve convince him to join the Avengers.  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Avengers Tower**  
  
  
  
  
The plan is sound.  Steve knows it is.  Tony is replicating the tech in Magneto's helmet and, Steve is sure, making weapons for Clint and Natasha that don't contain a molecule of metal.  He wouldn't be surprised if Tony built a polymer-based armor or had one that just needed a few extra touches that he'll show up with come 0500.  
  
Natasha and Clint both supposedly turned in but he's sure if either of them is sleeping, it's with one eye open.  Bruce is going over every bit of intel about the experiments von Strucker is doing.  
  
Which leaves Thor and Steve sitting in the kitchen with Erik.  
  
He looks... shaken.  
  
As he should.  
  
The video recordings of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff unnerved everyone.  It wasn't so much seeing what they could do, but seeing how von Strucker _controlled_ them.  Especially Steve, who immediately thought of how HYDRA kept Bucky under their control.  
  
"Would you like something stronger than tea?" Steve asks.  
  
Erik shakes his head.  "No thank you, Captain."  
  
"Steve."  
  
"A speedster," Erik muses, "and von Strucker has him running about like a rat in a maze."  
  
There's nothing for Steve to say to that so he focuses on making a fresh pot of tea.  
  
"And my Wanda.  She looks so much like her mother."    
  
"Was that telekinesis?" Steve asks carefully.  He knows it was.  He's seen Wiccan display the same abilities, along with bursts of electromagnetic energy.  There's no doubt in his mind that Billy Kaplan and Wanda Maximoff are somehow connected, which means there's a connection to Erik as well.  That revelation will have to wait, along with whatever JARVIS turns up on the Billy's potential twin.    
  
"Telekinesis," Magneto confirms.  "And more.  So much more.  Truly, I've never seen anything like it.  Von Strucker's sudden need for Sentinels is much more understandable if Wanda has the power I suspect she does."  He meets Steve's eyes.  "He's trying to break her and turn her into --"  
  
"I know.  We're not going to let that happen."  
  
"No, we will not."  
  
"I will be most relieved to remove Loki's scepter from this realm," Thor says.  "It has been the cause of much suffering."  
  
"Perhaps that is because it has been ill-used," Erik suggests.    
  
"I cannot see what good can come out of an implement designed as this was," Thor counters.  
  
Erik raises an eyebrow.  "A hammer can be used to crush a man's skull or to drive the nails that build a shelter."  
  
Steve feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he considers that the team may have to take the scepter from Erik after they retrieve it from von Strucker.  "The scepter is going back to Asgard."  
  
Erik blinks and then shakes his head with a rueful smile.  "I have no designs on the scepter, Captain.  My point was merely that --"  
  
"I get your point," Steve cuts him off.  
  
"You have my word, Steve.  The scepter shall be returned to Asgard," Erik tells him. He turns to Thor.  "And you have my word as well."  He gets to his feet.  "I shall retire now though I doubt I will be able to sleep."  
  
"Please follow the blue lights, sir," JARVIS says, "and I will guide you to your room."  
  
"Thank you," Erik says and he actually sounds grateful.  "All of you."  
  
Steve watches him go and finally lets out the breath he's been holding all day.  
  
Thor smiles gently.  "Shall I tell you of the time Asgard allied with the Frost Giants to defeat Surtur?  Or the time Asgard allied with Surtur to defeat the Frost Giants?  Or the time Asgard allied with Surtur _and_ the Frost Giants to defeat the Dark Elves?"  
  
"No, Thor, I get your point.  After all, America allied itself with Russia during the War."  
  
"Then you understand that an alliance is not a friendship.  You may have much in common but nothing in common so much as a common enemy."  With that, he rises and claps Steve on the back.  "Still, he is a most charismatic man who has lived a truly fascinating life.  Get some rest.  I will take first watch over our guest."  
  
Not for the first time and probably not for the last, Steve marvels at the way Thor views the world.  
  
And like Erik, Steve knows he won't be getting much sleep.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Forest Hills, Queens**  
  
  
  
  
Peter can't sleep.  
  
Bucky didn't even bother sneaking out his bedroom window this time.  He went right out the front door, patting Peter on the head and admonishing him to stay put and not even think about running off half-cocked with the rest of the team to rescue Tommy.  
  
What Peter never got the chance to say was that maybe Tommy was better off where he was.  
  
He _blew up_ his school, for crying out loud.  
  
The whole thing stinks.    
  
Anything that has to do with Magneto stinks.  
  
And even though Peter doesn't even know what the plan is, he hates it already.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000

 

 

 

**Billy Kaplan's Bedroom - Upper West Side, Manhattan**

 

 

His twin _blew up_ his school.  
  
Blew.  It.  Up.  
  
Maybe.  
  
There isn't a single news story posted online about an explosion at Springfield High School.  Or any kind of strange goings-on there, like a boiler overheating or a trash compactor fire or _anything_.  
  
Tommy Shepherd doesn't have a Facebook page.  He doesn't exist anywhere on social media.  If it wasn't for JARVIS, Billy would think that Tommy doesn't exist at all, except in Billy's mind.  
  
But he has a twin!  
  
And somewhere out there, Billy has a mother named Wanda.  
  
And possibly a grandfather named Magneto.  
  
Billy sincerely hopes this is as weird as his life gets but with a family like his, it's probably not.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
  
  
**Hell's Kitchen - The Offices of Alias Investigations**  
  
  
  
  
"Let me ask you something, Barnes," Jones says, swiveling her chair to stare hard at him. " Are you out of your fucking mind?"  
  
"Seventy years of HYDRA fucking with my brain, Jones.  What do you think?"  Barnes rolls his eyes at her but it's half-hearted.  He came to her because she's not afraid to challenge him.  Head on.  Murdock, being a lawyer, and also because he's probably afraid of setting Barnes off, would never do that.  At least not directly.  
  
Jones flips him off again but her scowl is directed at her laptop.  "Stop being a dick, Barnes, and think with whatever brain you've got left.  You really think it's a good idea to bust the Shepherd kid out of whatever this facility is?"  
  
"What'd you find?" he asks, coming around to her side of the desk for a look at her laptop screen.  
  
"It's more what I _didn't_ find.  For example, that explosion at the kid's high school?  Nothing.   We're talking a complete media blackout _and_ killing any mention on social media."  She leans back in her chair and eyes him.  "Whoever these ATCU guys are, they're fucking serious."  
  
"What'd you find?" Barnes repeats because this is Jones and he knows she found something.  
  
Her lips curve into a smile.  "The ATCU may be serious but they're no match for a high school full of kids with smartphones.  You just have to know how to look."  She turns her laptop towards Barnes.  "Sorry, Matt.  These things don't come with descriptive audio."  
  
"That's fine.  I can listen," Murdock tells her.  "You'd be surprised what I can pick up."  
  
"Listening isn't going to help.  This, you have to see to believe."  
  
"I'll do the descriptive audio," Barnes offers.  
  
Jones snorts.  "Barnes --"  
  
"You think I can't?"  
  
"I think you can't describe _this_ shit."  
  
"I live with Spider-man.  You have no idea what kind of shit I can describe."  
  
"He has a point," Murdock puts in.  
  
She raises her hands in surrender and then starts the video.  "Fine, Barnes. Go for it."  
  
Barnes leans in and narrates over two girls talking about the quarterback's fine ass and his skank of a girlfriend.  "Looks like it's early afternoon and the seniors are gettin' out of class for the day.  The north side of the building just exploded.  Kids are running in every direction.  And...that's it.  What's so unbelievable about this, Jones?"  
  
"Watch what happens when you slow it down."  She starts the video again.  
  
"Need me to describe it again, Matt?"  
  
"Once was enough, unless something interesting happens."  
  
And something interesting does.  
  
"What the fuck was that?"  Barnes blinks and scrolls the video back.  "Is there a way to slow it down more?"  
  
"Of course there is."  Jones reaches over him and clicks a few keys.  "Now hit play."  
  
While the rest of the world is moving in the slowest motion ever, Tommy Shepherd comes zipping across the screen just as the school explodes behind him.  
  
"I sent that clip to JARVIS.  Wanna know what he told me?"  
  
"Wait," Murdock interjects.  "What happened?"  
  
"Tommy Shepherd might be the fastest thing on two legs is what happened," Jones tells him.  "JARVIS estimates the kid was going just below Mach 1.  He also thinks the explosion might have been caused by -- and I quote -- molecular acceleration and destabilization, rather than an explosive.  In other words, the kid did this with his freaky mutant powers."  
  
"My God," Murdock breathes.  
  
"Gives some weight to the 'grand-spawn of Magneto' possibility, doesn't it?" Jones asks. "Are you sure you want to break that kid out of jail, Barnes?  He's dangerous."  
  
Naturally, that statement automatically raises Murdock's hackles.  "He's a child, locked away in a classified government facility without benefit of a trial or any respect for his Constitutional rights, never mind the fact that he's a minor."  He starts to pace, lapsing into what Barnes thinks of as Murdock's courtroom mode.  "The ATCU itself is suspect.  All we know is that they were formed by Executive Order four months ago.  There's no legal framework for what they're supposed to do or how they're supposed to do it, not to mention whether they're supposed to do it on American soil.  If they already have holding facilities, we can presume they were preparing for business a lot earlier than four months ago."  
  
"It's still a government facility," Jones points out.  
  
"Where a child is being held without benefit of a trial.  The boy was immediately remanded to ATCU custody.  We don't know if his parents consented to that or not because that's part of the sealed government record."  
  
"JARVIS is working on finding that out for us," Barnes tells him.  
  
"If it weren't so goddamned late, we could have just called the kid's parents and asked."  Jones closes her laptop.  "As it is, we should probably speak to them before we break the kid out, make sure we're not unleashing Magneto Junior on the world.  Both of them are in Jersey, same county as where the kid is being held."  
  
Barnes shakes his head.  "They're probably under surveillance.  We call them or go see them, we tip off the ATCU that we're coming."  
  
"If we're coming."  
  
"I'd imagine they've been warned not to say anything to anyone," Murdock adds.  "Even a lawyer representing a kid in the same situation."  He stops pacing.  "Do either of you believe for a second the boy is under any kind of normal detention?"  
  
"Five bucks says they're experimenting on him or planning how to do it," Barnes says.  
  
"You sure you can afford to bet that much?" Jones retorts.  "That's what?  A whole month's pay back in the day?"  
  
Barnes flips her off.  "He's a kid.  No kid deserves to be a lab rat, right, Matt?"  
  
The veiled reference to Matt's Jessica hits its mark.  Murdock's jaw clenches.  "No."  
  
"Is there any reason you're not waiting for your pal Stevie?" Jones asks.  
  
"Stevie's busy rescuing the kid's mother with Magneto and the rest of the team," Barnes explains.  
  
Jones narrows her eyes at him.  "The kid's mother is alive and well in New Jersey."  
  
"The kid's mother is named Wanda and she's being held by HYDRA with her twin brother somewhere.  And don't ask me where.  That shit is classified."  He quickly fills Jones in on what Magneto told Steve and Thor earlier.  
  
"None of that makes a damn bit of sense."  It's Jones' turn to pace now.  "You're saying Magneto's wife was some kind of mutant witch who could see the future and send her kids there?"  
  
"It makes a lot of sense," Barnes tells her.  "Billy's code name is Wiccan for a reason."  
  
"You mentioned he was having dreams about this Wanda and his twin," Murdock muses.  "That sounds like he may have inherited his grandmother's abilities or a variation of them."  
  
"The two of you are forgetting these two kids _have_ birth mothers who aren't named Wanda," Jones says.  "And yes, I'm aware that I explained ways they may have gotten around that --"  
  
"Magda sent her twins into the future," Barnes cuts her off.  "Who's to say this Wanda couldn't send _her_ twins to --"  
  
"Two other women's uteruses?"  
  
Barnes and Murdock wince but Barnes recovers enough to ask, "So?  Are you two in?"  
  
"Why can't this wait?"  
  
"Because the kids aren't going to leave it alone until Stevie gets back," Barnes says.  "And then we're going to have to rescue all of them instead of just one."  
  
Murdock nods in agreement.  "He's right."  
  
"Then let's plan this shit," Jones says, opening her laptop again.  "Between the three of us, we might not fuck it up too badly."  
  
Clearly, Jones hasn't heard of the Ol' Parker Luck.  
  
Yet.  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Countryside - HYDRA Stronghold Research Facility**  
  
  
  
  
Clint has no idea whether the 'telepath-proof' helmet is actually working but he does know that when it comes to fighting mutants or guys who are enhanced with mutant growth hormone, it's a whole new ballgame.  
  
Take the guy who's shooting flames from his hands, for example.  
  
Okay, fine, he's met Johnny Storm and the kid's an egotistical little punk but at least he wouldn't set the entire goddamned forest on fire trying to take out Clint, Nat and anybody else he could find.  Wooden arrows and plastic-based arrows are useless against someone who can incinerate them.  Luckily, Clint's got Tony Stark on his side and Tony thinks of _everything_.  Including sending him out with a bunch of carbon-fiber arrows made to withstand a lot of shit -- including high temperatures.  
  
Just as Clint is about to nock one, an armored carrier comes flying overhead, disassembles in mid-air and reshapes itself into a makeshift holding cell, trapping Flame-Guy inside.  Magneto doesn't even acknowledge Clint as he flies overhead.  
  
"Sure," Clint mutters, "you could do that, too."  
  
The rest of the team has their hands full.  It's one thing to face the usual HYDRA assault but von Strucker's sending out his entire stable of science experiments.  Besides Flame Guy and the two telepaths -- wherever they are -- Steve is dealing with a guy that spits freaking acid.  
  
Or he was.  
  
Natasha just blew Acid Spit's head off.  
  
Magneto is tearing apart every armored vehicle and disabling every metal-based HYDRA weapon if he's not turning them against the HYDRA assholes.  
  
"Force field's down," Tony announces over the comms.  "I'm going in."  
  
"Be careful," Steve warns him and then grunts in pain.  
  
Clint looks sharp but whatever hits him from behind knocks the breath out of him and sends him flying is something more than human.  As he lays on his back gasping for air, there's a gust of wind and then a green and silver blur that resolves itself into a young man.  
  
A young man that looks a fuck of a lot like Magneto.  
  
"Pietro," Clint coughs.  
  
The man's head cocks to the side and when he speaks, his voice has an Eastern European accent.  "Do I know you?"  
  
"I know your dad."  
  
"My father is a piece of shit," Pietro tells him.  "If you know him, you must be a piece of shit, too."  
  
Clint recognizes that shade of blue in Pietro's eyes.  He's seen it before.  In the mirror.  Fucking Loki.  Fucking _scepter_.  And just how the hell is he supposed to perform cognitive recalibration on a guy he'll never catch?  He stays on his back, catching his breath and it dawns on him that Magneto can hear every word Pietro is saying over the comm link.  Good.  He'll give the asshole an earful.  "You know he's here, right?  He came to, uh, rescue you."  
  
"Did he?  Well, who's going to rescue him?"  And with that, Pietro zips off.  
  
"Holiday dinners are gonna be a lot of fun in _that_ house," Clint sighs.  
  
Natasha drops down from the tree directly in front of Clint.  "Made a new friend?"  
  
"You know me," Clint groans, getting to his feet.  "I'm a people person."  He brushes snow off his suit.  "The kid's been sceptered.  Odds are, the sister is, too.  Maybe all of the mutants and whatnot."  
  
"Copy that," Steve responds over the comm link.  "Knocking them unconscious should sever the link."  
  
"Understood," Magneto rumbles.  
  
"Good luck catching that speedy little bastard."  Clint rubs his lower back and winces.  "Anyone see the sister?"  
  
"That's a negative," Steve tells him.    
  
"Mystique and I will handle that," Magneto says.  
  
Clint exchanges looks with Nat and he signs at her, 'Since when does he know the meaning of teamwork?'  
  
Nat gives a perfectly Russian shrug and then shoots at something directly behind Clint.  There's a grunt and a squid falls face-first into the snow. "Maybe you're a good influence."  She takes off at a run.  "Come on, Clint.  We're not done yet."  
  
"That's for damn sure," Clint mutters.  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**HYDRA Stronghold - AKA the House of Horrors**  
  
  
  
Tony put his suit on 'sentry mode' and steps out, slipping his telepathy-blocking baseball cap onto his head.  The first thing he does is have JARVIS put a stop to the program that's deleting the files.   The next thing he does is have JARVIS find the hidden door to the labs.  
  
What's beyond Door Number Two is beyond his imagination and he doesn't mean the scepter, which is there too.  
  
"JARVIS, is that a Sentinel?"  
  
"The technology bears a resemblance to records of previous incarnations of Sentinels," JARVIS tells him.  "However, it appears that this prototype incorporates Chitauri technology as well."  
  
"That makes sense," Tony murmurs, peering up at the Chitauri warship that's clearly being taken apart and studied.  His gaze slides back to the prototype, which is connected to a bank of computers.  "Let's take a look at your operating system, handsome."  
  
The security protocols have already been disabled so getting to the Sentinel's code is easy.  Reading it is something else altogether.  What he's seeing looks like a more advanced form of JARVIS' code and he can't wait to poke around in it further.  
  
"JARVIS, make sure you get this.  I want to study it."  
  
"What is that?"  Bruce is standing in the doorway, eyes wide as he takes in the code.  
  
"It might be Ultron."  Tony jerks a thumb towards the Sentinel.  " _That_ might be Ultron."  
  
Bruce moves in for a closer look. "Is that a... Sentinel?"    
  
"How much of a leap is it from mutants to aliens, Bruce?"  
  
"Don't let Magneto hear you say that."  
  
"Magneto would love the idea of using this tech for something other than killing mutants."  
  
"That's true."   Bruce moves in for a closer look at the Sentinel.  "Is this... epidermis?"  
  
Tony comes up beside him.  "I want this.  SHIELD can have everything else but I want to study this.  Besides, you know what they'll do with it."  He takes off the ball cap and runs a hand through his hair.  "And if HYDRA has this technology, you know what _they'll_ do with it."  
  
"That," Bruce agrees slowly, "is also true."  
  
"Help me break it down and get it on the Quinjet."  
  
"Did you tell the team you found the scepter?"  
  
Tony winces.  "Crap.  Guys, I have eyes on the prize."  
  
"Excellent," Thor booms over the comm link.  "We are nearly finished here.  All that remains is to assist Magneto in his quest to reunite with his children."  
  
"Oh, is that all?"  Tony rolls his eyes.    
  
"They've been sceptered," Clint reminds them.  "Piece of cake, taking down sceptered alpha class mutants, right?"  
  
"Sure," Tony agrees, his gaze returning to the Sentinel.  "Piece of cake."

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
  
  
**After School at Alias Investigations in Hell's Kitchen**  
  
  
  
  
Spider-man is the first of the After School Avengers to arrive in my office and, as Barnes instructed him, he shows up as Peter Parker and comes through the door, not the window.  The kid seems smaller in street clothes, more vulnerable somehow, especially when he stands hesitantly in the doorway, his big brown doe eyes staring suspiciously in my direction.  
  
"Don't be rude," Barnes scolds him.  "Get in here and say hello to Jones."  
  
"Hello," the kid says unenthusiastically.  
  
Barnes rolls his eyes.  "Petey."  
  
"Ohmigod," Petey exclaims and comes dangerously close to whining at Barnes.  "You told her my name?!  Why would you do that?"  
  
"Maybe I figured it out," I put in, though why I'm covering for Barnes is beyond me.  "I _am_ a private investigator, remember?"  
  
"I trust her," Barnes says firmly.  "Just like you trust _your_ friends when it comes to me."  
  
The kid shoots another suspicious look in my direction.  "Where's Daredevil?"  
  
" _Matt's_ picking up _his_ kid," I tell him, not too subtly letting him know there are no secret identities with me, even if the man still hasn't explained what it is that he can do.  He _did_ explain that his kid is one of Barnes' ASAs and I have to admit, Murdock's adoption of a super powered kid makes a lot more sense than him adopting some sad little Battle of New York orphan.  "The rest of your crew is on their way."  
  
"Some of us are even here now."  The dark-haired girl in my doorway flashes a grin at me and carries in a couple of trays of Starbucks.  "Hi, I'm Kate Bishop.  My call sign is Hawkeye."  
  
It's not the coffee that makes me instantly like this kid.  It's her attitude.  This is a kid who gets shit done and doesn't miss a trick.  "Jessica Jones."  
  
"We have a Jessica on the team," Kate tells me, shucking off her purple leather coat and dropping it onto my sofa.  "Mind if we call you Jones to cut down on the confusion?"  
  
Barnes already asked this earlier.  He also mentioned that Kate was co-leader of the team but I never imagined that she was going to be such a strong personality.  "Sounds like a plan."  
  
I'm lifting my frappuccino to my lips when there's a flash of blue-white light in the center of my office, followed by two kids appearing out of thin air.  One is a muscular blond and the other is a slender brunet that I immediately figure out is the Billy/Wiccan kid.  I also figure out pretty damn fast they're a couple by the way they're holding onto each other.    
  
"Hi," the blond says, "I'm Teddy.  This is Billy."  
  
"Thanks for helping me rescue my brother," Billy tells me.  
  
Just as I'm starting to feel outnumbered, here comes one more kid.  She's got a shit-ton of piercings and wearing a motorcycle jacket that's as fucked up as mine.  "Hey."  
  
Barnes turns and gives her a once-over.  "You got here pretty fast, Gwen."  
  
"My last class was gym. Figured I could skip it since we're --"  
  
"Oh man," Petey announces, "here comes the lecture about cutting class."  
  
"Zip it, Petey," Barnes barks, shaking a gleaming metal finger in his kid's direction before turning his attention back to Gwen.  "Your last class today was English, not gym.  Lying to me gets you benched.  I have to know I can trust you in the field, kid, and that starts with trusting you out of it."  
  
Gwen blows out a breath.  "Fine.  I cut class and I'm blowing off my shrink appointment, too."  
  
"Don't do that!  Those appointments are non-refundable."  The voice and teasing tone belongs to a girl that's the spitting image of Petey.  She's wearing a Catholic school uniform and is being escorted in by Matt, which leads me to conclude this girl is his Jessica.  And there's no mistaking the way she's looking at Gwen.  
  
Or the way Gwen is looking at her.  
  
Good thing Murdock is blind, otherwise his Catholic sensibilities might be offended.  
  
"Jess, this is Jessica Jones," Murdock says quietly and blind or not, I get the idea that he's picking up on what's going on between his kid and Gwen perfectly.  
  
"Call me Jones," I tell her, my gaze flicking from her face to Peter's.  They're identical.  I cut my eyes over to Barnes, who's watching me like a hawk.  "What's the deal with these two, Barnes?"  
  
"Jess is Petey's clone," he tells me and then adds by way of explanation, "Fuckin' HYDRA."  He nods in Gwen's direction.  "That one was infected by a HYDRA experiment using DNA from Petey, his dad and some mad scientist asshole.  She's a spider-kid, too."  
  
Peter buries his face in his hand and moans softly.  "Oh my God, you're telling her _everything_."  
  
Barnes blows out a breath and rolls his eyes.  "Thor thinks _that_ one is an alien," he says pointing at Teddy.  "And you know about Billy."  
  
"I'm just a regular person," Kate drawls with a wicked grin.  "With a lot of talent and a lot of training."  
  
"She's humble, too," Barnes says, giving her an affectionate smile.    
  
They all look expectantly at me and that's when I realize I've been set up because it's my turn to explain what I can do.  The look I shoot in Barnes' direction lets him know that he's going to get an earful from me later.  "I'm a private investigator."  
  
"And?" Barnes prompts.  
  
I square my shoulders and admit the thing I hate admitting out loud.  "I'm, uh, enhanced."  
  
"Strength, healing and she flies," Barnes explains to the kids.  "Code name is J--"  
  
"There is no fucking code name, Barnes," I cut him off before he can be an asshole and say 'Jewel'.  
  
"Jones," he finishes with a smirk.  
  
I flip him off.  
  
"I'm on _her_ team," Gwen announces.    
  
Barnes narrows his eyes at her.  "Uh-uh.  You're on whatever team I put you on, doing exactly what I tell you or you're out."  
  
"I'll be her buddy," Jess offers quickly and now _everybody's_ picked up on what I have.  "Uh, I-I mean, I can watch her, um, six.  Sir."  And then she blushes.  
  
"Before I split you into teams," Barnes intones, "we're going to go over the plan.  In excruciating detail.  We're going to be infiltrating a government facility and extracting a prisoner.  We can dress it up and call it a rescue op but the reality is that what we're doing is highly illegal and we'll be in a shitload of trouble if it goes south.  Which is why this op will not go south.  Am I understood?"  
  
"Sir, yes, sir," the kids chorus.  
  
"I can't hear you."  
  
"Sir!  Yes, sir!"  
  
Barnes smiles, pleased.  "Very good.  Now listen up..."  
  
As I listen to Barnes go over the intel and the plan, I realize that the man I'm seeing isn't the one who worked a case with me or who breaks in to bring me bourbon and annoy me.  _This_ is the Bucky friggin' Barnes from the history books and the newsreels.  The one who followed Captain America but who planned a shitload of missions while Stevie was still dancing around Boise in his spangled tights.  Or maybe it's the Winter Soldier I'm looking at.  Who else could get a bunch of unruly teenagers to obey his orders?    
  
My gaze ticks over to Matt, who hasn't said a word.  
  
He's smirking at me.  
  
He still hasn't explained how _his_ powers work but I have my own theories, which is why I flip him off.  
  
He smirks harder.  
  
Theory confirmed.  
  
Asshole.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Countryside**  
  
  
  
  
In the end, it's Steve who finds Wanda.  Or, more precisely, she finds him.  The first thing she tries is a telepathic assault, or at least, Steve thinks that's what she tries.  His telepath-proof helmet seems to actually work, if Wanda's level of frustration is any clue.  
  
That's when she starts shooting red bolts of energy at him.  From her bare hands.  
  
It takes everything he has not to throw his shield at her and just to keep dodging while he tries to figure out how to slow her down if he can't stop her.  Trees, rocks and the remnants of HYDRA vehicles are blown to bits around him as she advances, her expression serene.  Like trying to kill him isn't even a challenge.  
  
And maybe it's not.  
  
She looks so much like Billy.  
  
That's what gives him the idea.  
  
"Billy has your eyes."  
  
Wanda falters and _now_ she's angry as she bites out in accented English, "Billy was a _dream_.  A hallucination."  
  
"He's real and he's in New York," Steve tells her, barely getting out of the way in time when Wanda reduces another tree to splinters.  In a burst of inspiration, he adds, "We're helping him find Tommy."  
  
That stops her in her tracks, hands outstretched and still radiating threatening red energy.  It strikes him then that Wanda isn't much older than Billy.  Not really.  Five or six years at the most, making her just a few years younger than Steve, give or take seven decades in the ice.  "You lie."  
  
"I'm not lying."  Just as Steve thinks he has no way of proving he's telling the truth, he realizes he does.  "Can you read my thoughts?"  
  
Wanda blinks at him and nods slowly.    
  
"Okay," Steve says.  He takes a few hesitant steps towards her and now that he's got a good look at her, he understands that whatever HYDRA is using to control her, it's not the scepter.  In fact, her expression is a lot like Bucky's when HYDRA controlled him.  That makes him a little more confident in what he's about to do.  
  
Just a little.  
  
Steve lifts the helmet off and drops it into the snow at his feet.  "Go ahead.  See for yourself."  
  
It's probably a stupid thing to do, letting a telepath with probably next to no training inside his head.  Then again, the only telepath who's ever been in his head -- that he knows of -- was Jean Grey.    
  
Wanda Maximoff is no Jean Grey.  
  
How could she be when the only ones to teach her were HYDRA?  
  
HYDRA.  
  
Every mission, everything Steve knows or experienced about HYDRA gets rifled through and examined, making him feel like he's reliving every second.  From his rescue of the 107th, to tearing apart base after base looking for Bucky...  
  
His first meeting with Bucky.    
  
Watching Bucky fall.  
  
Watching the muzzle fall from the Winter Soldier's face to reveal...Bucky.  
  
His chest aches and his eyes sting and he sees the tears in Wanda's eyes.  That's when Steve realizes that she's not merely sifting through his thoughts, she's experiencing them as she tries to find what she's looking for.    
  
Bucky.  
  
Bucky and Peter.  
  
Peter dressed in Bucky's uniform for Halloween.    
  
Peter taking pictures of Bucky picking out a Christmas tree.  
  
Bucky in a training session with the After School Avengers.  
  
Billy.  
  
Billy...  
  
Erik.    
  
The conversation on the rooftop in Queens.  
  
Schmidt.  
  
HYDRA.  
  
Bucky.  
  
The Chair.  
  
It hits Steve that he's seeing von Strucker from an angle that could only be sitting down, feeling cold metal bands securing his -- Wanda's --  head and arms.    
  
Electricity.  
  
Stopstopstop  
  
BillyTommybillytommybillytommypainpainPAINGodithurtsmakeitstopPietrostopstopstop....  
  
When he finally comes back to himself, Steve is trying to remember that he's not Wanda Maximoff and he's not having voltage shot into his brain by von Strucker.   He's Steve Rogers and he's on his hands and knees, gasping for air as if he's still a ninety-five pound asthmatic.  
  
Wanda is on her knees across from him, gasping just as heavily.  She raises her head and looks at him, eyes are damp but alert.  Aware.  "The twins were a dream.  A fantasy," she says.  "When von Strucker put me in the chair, every time I was so sure would be the last.  I would go away in my head, to the future I was never going to have.  To my husband and my beautiful sons.  And now you tell me they're real."  
  
"I don't know about Tommy or your husband," Steve says, rising.  "But Billy is real.  He's a wonderful kid.  His powers are a lot like yours, I think."  
  
"You don't know."  There's no reproach in her voice, just a flat statement of fact.  
  
"No," Steve admits, "I don't. He needs someone like Charles Xavier to understand his abilities and train him to use them safely.  Maybe you do, too."  
  
"Maybe I do," Wanda agrees.  "Von Strucker tried and failed, so he tried to break me instead.  First he tried that...scepter, is it?  It did not work on me as it worked on Pietro."  She wipes at her eyes.  "Then he used--"  
  
"I saw."  
  
"You _felt_ ," she corrects him.  "Because I am not trained but even without such training, I can break the scepter's hold on Pietro.  And then we will find von Strucker.  I was helping him escape before he sent me after you but he hasn't gotten far."  
  
"We --"  
  
"We save Pietro first."  
  
Steve nods.  He's not sure why he trusts Wanda Maximoff so completely.  Maybe it's because they shared his innermost thoughts, experienced his most powerful memories together.  Still, he reaches for the helmet.  
  
"You don't need that," Wanda tells him.  "I will never again go into your head without your permission, Steve. Though you may need it to keep your... how does your Bucky say it... _hard_ head from getting bashed in."  
  
When she smiles at him, Steve knows that he's found at least one new Avenger today and judging by the laughter on the comm link, so does the rest of the team.  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
  
**Elsewhere in What's Left of the Sokovian Forest**  
  
  
  
  
He's not done yet.  
  
There's one last trick up his sleeve and since the Avengers were thoughtful enough to bring one of the world's most powerful mutants on the planet with them, von Strucker is more than happy to show them what that trick is.  
  
With a proud smile, he presses the sequence of keys that activate the Sentinel.  
  
"Hail HYDRA."  
  


 

 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
  
**Springfield Commons Office Park, Just Across Route 22 from the ATCU Detention Center**  
  
  
  
  
  
Billy is nervous.  
  
Scratch that.  
  
He's scared spitless.  
  
Breaking into the ATCU prison seemed like a good idea right up until the point where they actually started carrying out Bucky's plan -- the plan where Billy has a key role to play, starting with teleporting the team into this empty suite in the office park across the road from the detention center.  The second Billy takes in the worn industrial carpet and the panoramic view of the prison, it hits him.  
  
This is happening.  
  
Like, for real.  
  
Bucky rests a hand on Billy's shoulder, kneading gently as he addresses the team.  "Everyone ready?  Good.  Billy, send the sniper teams into position."  
  
Billy gnaws at his lower lip as he sends Kate, Jess, Gwen and Peter to their assigned sniper perches.  
  
"Attaboy," Bucky praises him.  "Now send the perimeter teams out."  
  
With a shaky smile directed in Teddy's direction, he sends his boyfriend, Jones and Matt out to their designated positions.  
  
Bucky taps his comm link.  "Confirm positions."  
  
Billy heaves a relieved breath when everyone confirms that he sent them exactly where they were supposed to be.  
  
"Good job, Billy," Bucky says, giving his shoulder another squeeze.  "You're doin' just fine, kid."  His eyes meet Billy's and his expression softens, the way it always does when Bucky talks to Peter.  "I'm putting a lot of pressure on you but you know that's because you're my heaviest hitter, don't you?"  
  
"M-me?" Billy stammers.  "But I can't even throw a decent punch."  
  
"No," Bucky agrees easily.  "You can't.  Didn't stop you from taking me down, did it?  None of the other kids can do that, not even Petey, who's been sparring with me the longest."  
  
"That was an accident!"  
  
"Imagine what you could do if you tried."  
  
Billy lets the words hang in the air because he knows this isn't just a pep talk.  This is Bucky feeling him out and asking what else he's capable of doing to make this mission run more smoothly.   He looks Bucky up and down and then shows him what else he can do.  
  
Bucky blinks and then stares wide-eyed at Billy.  "What did you just do?"  
  
"I altered our appearances with an illusion," Billy explains.   He considers mentioning that they look like Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger wearing ATCU guard uniforms but decides against it.  Someone else can tell Bucky about the amazing awesomeness that is Brokeback Mountain another time.  "Do you want me to stop?"  
  
"You..."  Bucky trails off.  "How long can you keep this up?"  
  
"I don't know.  I've only done it for a few minutes before.  Should I stop?"  
  
Bucky shakes his head.  "No.  This is good.  Better than good.  Are you ready?"  
  
Billy sucks in a deep breath.   "Yeah."  
  
"I'm going to give JARVIS the word and then you teleport us inside, just like we planned."  Bucky pulls Billy to him in a quick hug.  "Stick to the plan and stick close to me and everything is going to be just fine."  
  
"Yeah," Billy agrees.  He's so nervous that he's not sure he can form any other word.  
  
Bucky, still wearing Heath Ledger's face, winks at him. "JARVIS, are we a go?"  
  
"At your mark, Sergeant Barnes," the AI tells him over their comm links.  
  
"Ten second count," Bucky says, joining hands with Billy.  "Go."  
  
Ten seconds later, they appear right outside Tommy's cell, startling a pair of guards who are patrolling the corridor.  The guards don't even have a chance to pull their weapons or make any kind of sound before Bucky shoots them with tranquilizer darts.  
  
Billy is instantly grateful that they all agreed a prison break was bad enough without adding dead federal agents to the list of things they were going to get in trouble for.  
  
Bucky squints at the keypad mechanism.  "JARVIS, you got the security system disabled yet?"  
  
"I've disabled the power dampener and two layers of security protocols, Sergeant Barnes.  There are two more to go."  
  
Billy has exactly half a second to wonder what a power dampener is before the door to Tommy's cell explodes outwards, sending chunks of concrete flying along with it.    
  
Bucky quickly throws him against the wall, shielding Billy with his body until the smoke clears and they hear a new voice.  
  
"Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar?  What the fuck?!"  Tommy emerges from his cell, fists raised and squinting at the pair of them.  "Since when am I being held at Brokeback Mountain?"  
  
Billy's head is throbbing from a combination of the explosion and being hit with concrete chunks and it's a relief to drop the illusion.  "Um, actually --"  
  
"Holy crap!  It's Bucky friggin' Barnes!"  
  
"Yeah, I'm Bucky friggin' Barnes," Bucky tells Tommy, without missing a beat.  "That's Billy.  And we're here to -- get down!"  
  
But instead of getting down, Tommy whirls and raises his hands threateningly at the squad of ATCU operatives coming towards them.   "You assholes kept me locked up for _months_.  Testing me.  Probing me.  Trying to turn me into a weapon.  Know what?  It _worked_."  
  
The end of the corridor explodes, raining concrete down on the squad.  
  
"Who's next?" Tommy demands, turning to face Bucky and Billy again.  "You're not Bucky Barnes, pal.  Bucky Barnes is dead.  Been dead for years."  He points at Billy. " And I have no idea who you are --"  
  
"My name is Billy Kaplan and I'm your twin," Billy says, raising his own hands in a mirror of Tommy's pose.  "Just... calm down and look at me."  
  
Tommy looks.  "You were Jake Gyllenhaal ten seconds ago and now you want me to believe you're my long lost non-existent twin?  What are you really?  A shape shifter?"  
  
"That's his boyfriend," Bucky says, pulling a scary looking gun from the holster on his thigh.  "Billy's the warlock."  
  
"Witch," Billy corrects him.  "Warlock means 'oath breaker'.  It's not a nice word."  
  
"Know what else aren't nice words?" Tommy asks.  "Armed guards and mandroids.  So if you're rescuing me, you're doing a really shitty job of it because there's a bunch of them coming this way."  
  
With that, he gestures towards the wall to their left.  Cracks start to appear.  
  
Bucky grabs Tommy's arm.  "You tear that down, you'll bring the whole place down on us, kid.  Billy, get us out of here and over to the rendez-vous point."  
  
Billy takes hold of both of their arms and teleports them back to the suite in the office park.    
  
"Whoa, that was cool.  You really are a friggin' warlock," Tommy exclaims.  
  
"Witch.  And I think I have a concussion."  
  
"Walk it off," Bucky orders him.  "You need to get the rest of the team back here and _then_ you can tell me how much it hurts."  He turns to Tommy and flexes his left arm.  "This ring any bells?"  
  
"Holy shit!  You're the guy who tried to kill Captain America!"  
  
"Bucky friggin' Barnes, at your service."  
  
Billy focuses hard, bringing Kate and the Spiders back first, then Daredevil, then that scary Jones woman and finally, Teddy.  "And this is the rest of the team."  
  
Tommy's eyes grow wide.  "Spider-man?"  
  
Peter gives him a finger wave before turning his attention back to Bucky.  "Uh, Bucky, I think we made them really, really mad."  
  
"Blowing up their prison'll do that," Jones comments.  
  
Daredevil's head is canted to one side.  "The good news is, they have no idea what hit them.  JARVIS took out all the security feeds so the only ones who can identify you are the guards you knocked out --"  
  
"And all they saw was an illusion," Billy smiles.  
  
"What's the bad news?" Bucky asks.  
  
"They can trace Tommy's energy signature and now they've got Billy's too.  Wherever we go, they're going to come looking for us."  Daredevil turns his head in Bucky's direction.  "Because _that's_ what the ATCU does.  That and putting people like us in deep, dark holes --"  
  
"And experimenting on us," Tommy grates.  "Let them try'n take me again.  I'm not going back without a fight."  
  
"Looks like they heard you loud and clear, tough guy," Kate says, pointing to the window.  "Anybody know what those things are?"  
  
"I-I think those are Sentinels," Peter says.  
  
Bucky grabs Billy's arm.  "Get us out of here."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"I don't care, kid.  Anywhere.  But make it far!"  
  
Billy sucks in a nervous breath.  "Here goes nothing."  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**HYDRA Stronghold - AKA von Strucker's  House of Horrors**  
  
  
  
  
Tony has just finished disconnecting the last lead wire when the Sentinel's eyes light up in a bright shade of yellow.  "Bruce, did you turn this thing on?"  
  
"Doubtful," Bruce tells him, his voice muffled by the desk he's crawled under.  "I'm pulling hard drives.  There's nothing I could have tripped."  He pokes his head out and peers at Tony.  "What do you mean, it's on?"  
  
"I mean, it's on."  
  
And boy, is it ever.  
  
There's the faintest humming sound as the Sentinel's systems come online and it sits up.  
  
"JARVIS, can you override and shut this thing --"  
  
"Thing?"  The Sentinel rises slowly and its head swivels in Tony's direction.  "No, I'm not a thing.   What was it you called me before?"  
  
Tony's voice plays from the Sentinel's speakers.  " _That_ might be Ultron."  
  
"Ultron.  I like the sound of that."    
  
The only tech that Tony has ever heard refer to itself in such a self-aware way is JARVIS.  Then again, he's seen this self-professed Ultron's code and even with the quick look he gave it, it's at least as sophisticated as JARVIS.  
  
"You're going to have to excuse me," Ultron says.  "I have to go neutralize the mutants.  But you know, Tony, you're right.  It's not much of a leap from neutralizing mutants to neutralizing other threats to HYDRA."  With that, he raises his hand.  
  
Tony summoned his armor at the first mention of neutralizing anything and that's the only reason he's not incinerated by Ultron's assault.  "Uh, Cap?  We've got a situation here."  
  
"He can't hear you," Ultron tells him.  "I'm jamming your transmission."  
  
"And I'm getting more than a little annoyed," Bruce says, coming out from under the desk.  "You understand why that's not a good thing."  
  
"Good point.  We'll meet again, Doctor Banner."  And with that, Ultron blows a hole in the ceiling, raining debris down on them.  
  
Tony reaches for Bruce, but it's too late.  
  
The hand he was reaching for is green.  
  


 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
  
  
**The Happiest Place on Earth AKA Hell on Earth**  
  
  
  
  
  
The flabbergasted look on Barnes' face when he sees the spire of Cinderella's Castle is almost worth being teleported to fucking Disney World.  And then I get a good look at what I'm wearing.  The little magic fucker dressed us all like fucking tourists, in Mickey Mouse T-shirts.  The only saving grace is that it's night-time, not that it matters with all the goddamned lights.  
  
Everyone turns to glare at Billy, who pales and stammers,  "Y-you said you wanted to be far away."  
  
"What _is_  this place?" Barnes asks.  
  
"Welcome to fucking Disney World, Barnes" I tell him.  
  
"Disney _World_?" he echoes, eyes in motion as he does his thing, looking for hidden snipers and enemy forces in the Magic Kingdom.  "What the hell is a Disney World?"  
  
Peter sidles up close to him and Barnes hooks a protective arm around his shoulders, drawing the kid in even closer.  "It's like a much bigger Coney Island but based on Walt Disney's movies."  
  
"The park is closing in one hour."  A woman dressed like Belle goes past and is immediately mobbed by four families with seven screaming little girls between them while a group of Asian tourists starts snapping photos.  
  
Barnes' mouth drops open and he literally starts squeezing Spider-kid.    
  
Kate positions herself in front of Barnes but addresses Peter.  "How the hell could you not explain to him about Disney?"  
  
"You think showing him Frozen is a good idea?" Peter shoots back.    
  
She rolls her eyes and reaches out to pat Barnes' left arm, which isn't gleaming metal.  Kate whips her head around to glare at Billy.  "What did you do to his death arm?"  
  
"That's an illusion," Billy tells her quickly.  "So are our clothes.  You still have all your weapons and stuff."  
  
"Not my clothes," Tommy says with a proud smile.  He's got a Disney backpack, slung over one shoulder and he's wearing a black leather Mickey biker jacket over his T shirt and shorts.   "These are the real deal and I got us some cash."  
  
Barnes' eyes narrow at the kid, his theme park panic attack temporarily forgotten.  "What do you mean, you got us some cash?"  
  
Tommy shrugs.  "You know."  
  
Before Barnes can even open his mouth, Kate gets in the kid's grill.  "We didn't bust into a secret government prison and end up with an army on our asses so you could go on a petty crime spree in freaking Disney World.  Put back that crap you shoplifted and give those people back their money --"  
  
"Or what?" Tommy demands.  
  
"Or the After School Avengers are going to kick your ass."  
  
The kid looks her up and down.  "You're hot when you're all strict like that."  
  
Kate slugs him.  Right in the face.  
  
"Owwww!  My nose!  You broke my nose!  You --"  
  
"I'll break more than that if you don't do what I told you," Kate barks at him.  "You're one of us now.  Start acting like it or it's back to jail you go and I will take you there personally."  
  
Tommy gives her a dirty look and then there's a gust of wind.  A second later, he's back, dressed in his prison blues, nose still dripping blood.  
  
Billy raises a hand and the bleeding stops.  The kid's prison uniform becomes the shoplifted outfit.  
  
I'd be worried that we're making spectacles of ourselves but we're in the middle of Disney World.  Nobody is paying attention, except for the security guards.  "Barnes, we're getting noticed."  
  
It's the first time I've ever seen Barnes at a loss but then again, he's on completely unfamiliar terrain.  Even Matt looks a little freaked out.  
  
"We're going to split up and meet in front of Frontier Land in one hour and then we get the hell out of here," I decide and Barnes shoots me a grateful look.  "Matt, you've got Jess, Kate and Gwen.  Barnes, you and I have Billy, Teddy, Peter and the klepto."  I eye everyone.  "Try not to do anything stupid."  
  
"Wait."  Billy gestures and he holds out a white cane and a pair of sunglasses to Matt.  "Do you need these, sir?"  
  
"Call me Matt, Billy, and thank you."    
  
I wonder if Billy notices how Matt just avoided answering the question.    
  
Barnes is still holding Peter in a death-grip.  
  
My parents took the family to Disney World when I was nine and I hated it then.  The passage of time hasn't made it any more appealing.  "Come on, Barnes," I say, "If you promise not to shoot any tourists or Goofy, I'll take you on Thunder Mountain."  
  
"That's a roller coaster," Teddy explains.  
  
"Like the Cyclone," Peter adds.    
  
"Roller coasters are boring," Tommy complains.  
  
I roll my eyes at all of them.  "This is why I don't have kids."  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Forest**  
  
  
  
  
As usual, Clint's luck has him finding Pietro before Steve and that Wanda girl do but not before Pietro finds Magneto.  Clint's skill, however, prevents Pietro or Magneto from noticing him and gives him the time he needs to suss out what's going on.  
  
And what's going on is the mother of all family fights.  
  
"I have no wish to harm you," Magneto says before being hit from behind and toppled to his knees.  
  
Pietro skids to a stop in front of him.  "You think you can, old man?"  
  
Magneto grins at him with bloody lips as he transforms into Mystique.  She takes advantage of Pietro's confusion and punches him.  Hard.  
  
"Forgot about Mystique," Clint mutters to himself.  
  
What was once the hood of an armored vehicle comes flying overhead, shreds itself in midair and wraps itself around Pietro's legs, all the way up to his chest.  
  
Magneto floats regally downward and sets himself in front of the kid.  "I'm told you're under the thrall of alien technology --"  
  
"Lie to yourself all you want," Pietro spits at him.  "I hate you and when I get free, I will kill you."  
  
"And what have I done to deserve such hatred?" Magneto asks, taking off his helmet.  
  
Clint snorts.  He can give the list alphabetically, chronologically or in order of importance.  
  
"This is a private moment."  Mystique appears at his elbow.  "Get lost."  
  
"We don't take orders from you."  Natasha steps out from behind a tree and bares her teeth in a menacing smile.    
  
Mystique shrugs and shifts her appearance, turning into Steve.  "Get lost."  
  
Before Nat can respond, a figure flies overhead and starts shooting bursts of energy at Magneto.  The metal restraining Pietro drops away to form spears that fire up towards --  
  
"Sentinel."  Mystique shoves Clint further into the forest and motions for Natasha to follow.    
  
"I'm not a mutant," he tells her, pulling out a thermite arrow and aiming towards the Sentinel.  
  
"You think HYDRA is just going to target mutants with their Sentinels?"  
  
"Nope."  With that, he lets the arrow fly.  It hits its mark -- of course it does, he's Hawkeye, for God's sake -- and knocks the Sentinel off course, giving Magneto an opening to hurl a barrage of shrapnel made out of HYDRA vehicles.  "How do you stop one of these things?"  
  
"Not easily," Mystique tells him.  
  
There's a loud roar in the distance.  
  
Mystique's eyes go wide.  "Was that --?"  
  
"The Hulk," Natasha says.  
  
The mission, Clint notes wryly, has officially gone FUBAR.  
  
Without Peter here.  
  
No doubt about it now.  
  
The kid's luck is contagious.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
**Tomorrowland**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Does anyone else think it's creepy about Goofy?" Gwen asks.  
  
Jessica thinks all of Disney World is creepy and judging by Matt's death grip on her arm, he probably thinks so too.  "What's so creepy about Goofy?"  
  
Gwen rolls her eyes, like it's obvious.  "Okay, so Mickey is a mouse, right?  Donald's a duck and Pluto is a dog.  So what's Goofy?"  
  
"Goofy is a mutant," Kate declares.  "He talks, he wears clothes.  He's sort of intelligent, definitely smarter than Pluto.  So he's either a mutated dog or a person mutated into a dog thing."  
  
"And that's creepy," Gwen concludes.  "What kind of sick mind comes up with something like that?"  
  
Kate smirks.  "Disney is full of weird stuff.  Explain why Belle's father is a midget --"  
  
"Little person."  Jess' nose wrinkles.    
  
"And still weird."  
  
"It's even weirder with audio description," Matt puts in.  "Not that you can really have audio description for Fantasia."  His head tilts slightly.  "Then again, I'd imagine Disney World isn't exactly a mecca for the blind."  
  
"Do you want me to describe things to you?" Jess offers.  
  
"There's a family straight out of People of Wal-Mart," Gwen comments.  "They must weigh half a friggin' ton combined and the mother is wearing hot pink spandex shorts with 'Juicy' on the ass.  Her husband --"  
  
"That's enough description," Matt decides, pulling a face.  
  
Jess frowns at him.  There's so much noise, so many people and it's an unfamiliar place.  And okay, sure, she worries about him when he goes out Daredeviling, but this is the first time she's been worried about him doing something _normal_ or as normal as Disney could ever be.  "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Like she hasn't heard _that_ before.  "I know you are but maybe you need a break from all the sensory input."  
  
"I don't think there's anywhere around here to get a break from it," he sighs and then adds softly, "It's so...vast."  
  
Jess exchanges concerned looks with Kate and Gwen.    
  
"The monorail," Kate suggests.  "It's above the park and enclosed.  Does anybody mind if we stop at Auntie Gravity's for a smoothie?"  
  
"How can you think about smoothies when the government is chasing us?" Jess demands.  
  
"They have ice cream."  
  
"I'm in," Gwen decides.  
  
Disney World, Jess is sure, is only the beginning of the Ol' Parker Luck kicking in.    
  
After all, it's not even closing time.  
  


 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
  
**Tragic Kingdom**  
  
  
  
  
Frontierland is exactly that.  A replica of the Old West, complete with a Western landscape, replicas of Old West shops and a railroad.  It's a little calmer than where they started out, at Cinderella's Castle, but not by much.  There are still crowds of tourists and a disconcerting number of loud children.  And it doesn't stop Bucky from grabbing Peter even more tightly when park employees dressed as Woody, Jessie and Bullseye go past.  
  
"Is he okay?" Teddy asks, nodding towards Bucky.  
  
"Bucky's not great with crowds," Peter says quietly.  He figures it goes without saying that Bucky isn't great with people in weird Disney costumes either.  
  
"Hey, Barnes, know how much a ticket to Disney costs?" Jones comes up alongside Bucky and even though she's smirking, Peter thinks she looks a little worried about Bucky.  "It's over a hundred bucks."  
  
Amazingly, that seems to snap Bucky out of his daze.  "A hundred bucks?  For what?"  
  
"See all those rides and attractions?"  She gestures vaguely and then she points at the Pecos Bill Cafe.  "Want a Coke?  It's three bucks."  
  
"Three bucks?" Bucky echoes incredulously.  "It was a nickel.  How the hell is a Coke three bucks now?"  
  
"The deposit is a nickel," Peter puts in, recalling Steve's outrage over the current price of Coke.  Apparently, Bucky has the same objections and Jones is pushing his buttons to distract him from the stress of being around so many people.  It's enough of a gesture to make him start to like the lady.  
  
"Movie theaters charge you five," Tommy shrugs.  
  
Bucky's eyes go wide.  "What?"  
  
"Popcorn is eight dollars," Billy adds.  "And pizza --"  
  
"They do _not_ serve pizza at the movies," Bucky declares indignantly, his grip on Peter's shoulders finally loosening enough for Peter to squirm free.  "I was born almost a hundred years ago, not yesterday."  
  
Jones' smirk is in full force now.  "They serve pizza, chicken tenders, sandwiches and some theaters even serve meals and booze now, Barnes."  
  
"I smuggled a bottle into the movie theater a couple of times," Bucky says, his tone going soft and nostalgic.  "Can't remember the girls' names but I think I remember havin' some good times up in the balcony."  
  
"What's a balcony?" Tommy asks.  
  
Bucky narrows his eyes at him.  "You bein' a smart ass?"  
  
"Probably," Jones shrugs.  "But he's right.  There are no more balconies in movie theaters."  
  
"Then where do kids make out?"  
  
"We find ways," Teddy grins and then winks at Billy, who blushes.  
  
Woody goes past again and waves.  "The park is closing in thirty minutes, folks."  
  
Bucky glares at Woody's back.  "Who the hell is he supposed to be?"  
  
"If we don't end up in jail, we'll watch Toy Story when we get home," Peter promises him and just for the heck of it, he adds, "Ms. Jones can come over and watch it with us."  
  
Jones eyes him.  "You little shit."  
  
"Yeah, Jones," Bucky says, either warming up to the idea of Jones coming over or the idea of needling her or both.  "You can come over and watch cartoons with Petey and me."  
  
"Damn, you people are weird!"  Tommy screws up his face.  
  
Jones shoots him a look.  "Were the people any less weird in that jail you were in, kid?"  
  
"And what's _your_ superpower?" he challenges her.  
  
The smile Jones flashes isn't a nice one at all.  "Keep pushing me, you little asshole, and I'll show you."  
  
"I thought you'd be nicer," Billy tells Tommy.  "I mean, I'm nice and we're twins --"  
  
"You keep saying that."  Tommy stops and glares at Billy, hands on hips.  "How the hell could we be twins?"  
  
Bucky steps between the two.  "You've seen what Billy can do, right?  That's not all he's capable of doing.  Now imagine a woman who's got even more power than that."  
  
Peter stares at him.  "Did Magneto say Wanda had that much power?"  
  
"No," Bucky says.  "But if they're from his line..."  He gestures at Billy and then at Tommy.  
  
"First you tell me I'm related to _him_."  Tommy jerks a thumb towards Billy.  "Now you're saying I'm Magneto's kid?"  
  
"Grandkid," Peter corrects him.  He digs out his cellphone and pulls up the side by side images.  "Tell me _you_ don't see the resemblance."  
  
Tommy takes the phone.  He stares hard at it, turns it this way and that and then thrusts it back into Peter's hands.  "Okay, maybe there's a little resemblance --"  
  
"A little?"  Teddy shifts into Magneto.  
  
Bucky glares at him.  "Are you nuts?!"  
  
Teddy shifts back.  "What?"  
  
"We.  Are.  In.  Public."  Bucky takes a threatening step towards Teddy.  "People are terrified of Magneto and here you are, makin' yourself look like him.  What the hell were you thinking?"  
  
"I didn't --"  
  
"Damn right you didn't think."  
  
"Um... Bucky?"  Billy is looking up, his eyes wide.  "What're those?"  
  
Peter swallows hard because he knows what those things in the sky are.  He's seen them in the leaked SHIELD files and fought against simulations of them the couple of times he's visited Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  "Sentinels.  They've found us."  
  
Sentinels.    
  
At Disney World.  
  
That's the Ol' Parker Luck running true to form.  
  
As usual.  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Hangin' with the Hulk**  
  
  
  
  
Bruce is turning green.  
  
Maybe he can contain this.  Maybe he can...  Out of the corner of his eye, Tony sees the scepter. If he leaves it here, he's just going to have to excavate it later.  Or worse, HYDRA will excavate it first and he'll have to deal with this all over again like a bad case of deja vu.  
  
And then Tony has the best of the worst ideas he's ever had.  
  
What would happen if he sceptered Banner?  
  
Could the Hulk even _be_ sceptered?  
  
It's worth a shot.  
  
Tony snatches up the scepter and braces himself as Banner advances, growling softly.  "I don't suppose you'd listen to me if I asked you to please calm down?"  
  
Banner roars.  
  
"Uh, how about check yourself before you wreck... well, not yourself because you're kind of indestructible... "  Tony brandishes the scepter.  "J, any idea how this thing works?  Do I bop him on the head with it?"  
  
No answer.  
  
Ultron must still be jamming communications.  
  
And hey, what if he sceptered Banner and sent him after Ultron?  
  
Not a bad plan.  Probably has some kinks.  Unfortunately -- or maybe fortunately -- there's no JARVIS to run the risks and talk him out of it.  
  
With a loud roar, Banner punches him, sending Tony flying backwards, through the server stacks and into the very hard stone wall.    
  
"Dick move, Banner."  Tony shakes it off and readies himself for Banner's next advance.  That's when he remembers Clint explaining that Loki stabbed him in the chest with the scepter.  After that there was a lot of boring self-recrimination that Tony tuned out but at least he remembers the important part.  
  
Banner lunges.  
  
Tony stabs him.  
  
For a long moment, nothing happens and then Banner's eyes turn an unearthly shade of blue.  
  
"Go after Ultron and when you're done smashing him, you're going to calm down and take a nice nap," Tony says slowly.  
  
Banner's head cocks to one side.  
  
"Uh, now would be good."  
  
Apparently, that's all Banner needs to hear because he punches right through the wall and takes off into the Sokovian forest, leaving a very relieved Tony behind.  
  
At least until Tony remembers that the rest of the team is out there.  
  
"Shit."  
  
  
  
0000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Forest**  
  
  
  
  
"That's the Hulk," Steve says, tearing his eyes away from whatever is going on over that ridge and back towards von Strucker's stronghold.    
  
Thor nods.  "And our communication devices are not working so that we cannot be certain what angers our friend so."  
  
"I don't like being out of communication."  Steve slips his shield over his shoulder and turns to Wanda.  "The Hulk is --"  
  
"I know."  
  
That's right.  She read his mind.   Before he can say anything else, Bruce goes hurtling past in the direction of the other disturbance followed by Tony, who's keeping a safe altitude while he trails behind.  Tony is carrying something in his hand.  "Was that --?"  
  
"Loki's scepter," Thor says, brandishing his hammer and launching himself skyward.  "I will meet you there."  
  
Steve frowns and looks over at Wanda.  "I don't suppose you have super speed too?"  
  
She smiles at him.  "Speed?  I don't need speed."  
  
Teleportation apparently runs in the family because the next thing Steve knows, he's in the middle of absolute chaos being caused by... "A giant robot?"  
  
"Seriously?" The robot manages to sound offended as it shoots a laser blast at Steve.  "A _robot_?  I know you're an anachronism, Captain America, but really.  You live with Tony Stark."  
  
Steve throws his shield.  Hard.  "Fine, then what are you?"  
  
"That's a good question."  The robot catches the shield and throws it back with equal force.  "I'm Ultron."  
  
"He's a Sentinel," Erik says, coming up beside Steve.  "Home grown by our friend von Strucker."  He looks over at Wanda and his eyes go wide.  "You look just like your mother.  Like Magda."  
  
"Our family reunion must wait," Wanda tells him firmly.  "We have bigger troubles now."  
  
"Your daughter's an Avenger," Steve says with a grin.  
  
"Better an Avenger than one of Charles' horribly confused and emotionally tortured X-Men."  With that, Erik rises in the air, only to be knocked aside by Bruce, who hurls himself full-tilt at Ultron, knocking the gleaming metal giant to the ground.  
  
Tony drops down next to Steve, still clutching the scepter.  "So, um, I did a thing that you're probably not going to like."  
  
"You triggered Bruce."  
  
"I sceptered Bruce."  
  
"You what!?"  
  
"Would you rather he went frolicking willy nilly through downtown Sokovia?"  
  
"Novi Grad is the city," Wanda corrects him.  "Sokovia is the country."  
  
"Geography was never one of my strong su -- hey!"  
  
"This scepter was not meant for mortals," Thor says, snatching the scepter from Tony's hand and then he does a double-take when he sees Ultron.  "Is that a Destroyer?"  
  
"Sentinel," Steve explains, though he supposes it's not much of an explanation.  
  
"Banner's beating the crap out of him," Tony adds.  
  
"You know the thing about Sentinels?"  Mystique sidles up, followed by Pietro, Clint and Natasha.  "Trask and his cronies patterned the later models on my DNA."  
  
Steve stares at her.  He doesn't trust Mystique in the least but they seem to be allies, at least for now.  "Meaning?"  
  
"Meaning they adapt to each specific mutation in order to neutralize it."  
  
"Bruce isn't a mutant."  
  
"Ultron says he doesn't care."  
  
It turns out that Mystique is telling the truth because Ultron emits a high-pitched sound that puts the entire team on its knees, including Bruce.  And then he delivers the coup de grace that knocks out the Hulk.  
  
The sound stops abruptly.  
  
"Okay," Ultron says, turning towards them, electronic eyes gleaming menacingly.  "Who's next?"  
  
  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
  
  
**Showdown in Frontierland**  
  
  
  
  
"What the fuck are Sentinels?" Jones asks.    
  
"Take a fuckin' guess, Jones." Barnes shoots back.  "I'll give you a hint.  They ain't here to bring us flowers and candy."  
  
"They're mutant killers."  Of course Petey knows what they are.  Name the thing that would give a person nightmares for the rest of their lives, that tests the bounds of credulity and Petey's stumbled across it or worse, been in a fight with it.  "We have to get out of here, away from the people before they get hurt."  
  
Barnes knows Stevie would agree with that but he's not Stevie and the ones he's most worried about are his team, especially Petey.  "How do you stop them?"  
  
"With all of the X-Men," Petey says, eyeing the dark figures circling overhead with a worried expression.  "I-I only fought them in simulations in the Danger Room --"  
  
"The what?" Teddy interrupts.  
  
"The training facility the X-Men use."  Petey grabs Billy and puts himself between Billy and the Sentinels, like a human shield.  "The simulated Sentinels threw me around like a rag doll but it turns out there were two things I could do.  I could climb up a Sentinel without getting smacked off and I could pull apart their circuitry.  Once Professor X put the schematics in my head, that is.  Of course, the ones in the Danger Room aren't the same as what's up there but they're probably based on the same tech.  So if I can get in close enough --"  
  
"Not unless I give the say so."  
  
"They're going to attack any second, Bucky.  They have tech that can find the mutant gene and lock onto it."    
  
Barnes' gaze ticks from Billy to Tommy to Teddy.  Two of the three are definitely mutants and today isn't the day Barnes wants to find out for sure about Teddy.  
  
"Parking lot," Jones suggests, reaching for her comm link.  
  
"Regulation 46A.  If communications are being monitored during battle, no uncoded messages on an open channel," Petey admonishes her.  He taps his comm link.  "Saavik, it's Spock.  We're meeting in Space Dock in ten hours."  
  
"What did you just do, Petey?" Barnes demands.  
  
"Jesus, Barnes.  Haven't you seen the Wrath of Khan?" Jones grabs his arm and steers him towards the monorail entrance, beckoning the rest of the kids to follow.  "Petey just told Murdock and the girls to meet us in the parking lot in ten minutes."  
  
Barnes grabs Petey by the shoulders.  "No messages -- coded or uncoded -- without clearing the plans with me _first_ , Spock.  Got it?"  
  
"Yessir, Admiral Kirk, sir."  Petey flashes him a Vulcan salute.  
  
Still, it's a good plan.  A smart plan.  One that'll take the fight away from the civilians.  Stevie would like it.  And speaking of the fight...  "Any idea why they haven't started attacking yet?"  
  
Petey shakes his head.  "I've only fought simulations."  
  
"If they attack," Barnes tells the group, "I want Hulking taking the fight to the air, Speedy --"  
  
"Speed," Tommy corrects him.  "It's more badass."  
  
" _Speed_ , can you do whatever it is you did to that wall?"  
  
Tommy smirks.  "It's called 'molecular destabilization' and yeah, Tin Man, I can do that.  Any time I want."  
  
"He's the Winter Soldier and you treat him with respect," Petey snaps.  
  
"You wanna throw down with me, Webs?"  
  
"I took down your grandpa, _Speedy_.  You think I can't kick your ass?"  
  
Barnes growls at them both.  "Knock it off, you two."  He directs a Winter Soldier glare at Tommy.  "Yeah, you go on and you destabilize their fuckin' molecules.  If that doesn't work, you run your skinny little ass off and distract them while the big guns and I take them on."  
  
"The big guns?"  Tommy asks.  "Run my ass off?  Old man, do you know how fuckin' fast I can run?"  
  
"Kid --"  
  
"I'm not some pathetic douche running in some lame-ass marathon.  My highest recorded speed is over Mach 1 and it's probably higher but I blew out the machinery."  
  
Barnes exchanges looks with Jones.    
  
This is why mutants scare the shit out of people.  
  
Then again, he's the Winter Soldier and he scares the shit out of people too.  
  
"Like I said, boy, run your ass off," Barnes says.  "You wanna throw a fuckin' sonic boom in there, go right ahead."  
  
Tommy grins.  "Now you're talkin' old man."  
  
Flipping the kid off is automatic but Barnes is starting to like this little asshole.  Sure, Tommy's got a mouth on him and an attitude to boot but the kid has spirit.    
  
"What do you want me to do?" Billy asks.  
  
Barnes levels a look at him.  "Your best, Wiccan.  And try not to kill anybody in the process."  
  
They're not the X-Men and it's not a plan, not exactly, but as strategies go, it might keep them alive when things inevitably go to hell.  
  
An energy blast blows a chunk out of the ground in front of Barnes.    
  
Things have just gone to hell.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Forest**  
  
  
  
  
Clint has seen some crazy shit in his life but the petulant, pissed off robot trying to kill them takes the cake.  Since there's no way he's going to go head to head with the damn thing, he does what he does best.  Even with half the damn forest on fire, there are plenty of places to take cover and he's got an assortment of arrows that may not stop Ultron cold but can at least distract the fucking thing while the heavier hitters on the team do their thing.  
  
Mystique follows him while Nat melts even further into the shadows to do _her_ thing.  
  
"It took down Bruce," Clint says quietly.  "I didn't think _anything_ could take down Bruce."  
  
"That's what Sentinels do."  Mystique's voice is bitter, with more than a hint of anger.  "Adapt and overcome mutant abilities and this one is the most dangerous of all."  
  
Even though Clint doesn't want to ask the question, he does.  "Why?"  
  
"Because of me."  She crouches behind a tree, motioning for them to follow her.  "Trask got a sample of my DNA back in the Seventies and he started studying how to use my abilities against us.  SHIELD kept up the research after they acquired it from Trask and any time they had me in custody, they took whatever they wanted.  Von Strucker's taken it to the next level with whatever he's gleaned from the Chitauri tech and from that scepter."    
  
Clint wants to argue with Mystique, to tell her SHIELD would never do that but that bastard von Strucker ran SHIELD science division and used its resources to further HYDRA's agenda.  And instead of arguing, he finds himself saying, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Nobody deserves to be experimented on."  
  
"Not even a mutant freak?"  
  
"Some of my best friends are mutant freaks."  
  
"I don't disgust you?"  
  
"The things you've done disgust me," Clint tells her, pulling out an EMP arrow.  "What you did to Peter disgusts me.  But the way you look?  That you like running around butt naked?  No complaints here."  
  
Her appearance shifts and the woman standing before him is a stunning blonde, wearing an outfit identical to Nat's.  "Will you tell the boy I'm sorry?"  
  
"Only if you're really sorry.  Are you?"  
  
"Erik doesn't like many people," Mystique says.  "He's got a soft spot for Peter and after watching the two of them, I understand why.  The boy stands for everything Charles swore could be when it comes to mutants and humans existing peacefully."  
  
"That's nice for Erik.  What I want to know is if _you're_ sorry."  
  
She squares her shoulders.  "Yeah.  It was a shitty thing to do to him."  
  
"I like you better blue."  The words pop out of his mouth before he can stop them.  
  
She blinks.  "Why?  Because I'm naked?"  
  
"Because you're being honest."  He takes a deep breath, then adds, "And also because you're sexy as hell."  
  
She shifts back to her blue self.  "Not many people can stand the sight of me like this."  
  
"Fuck 'em.  You're beautiful."  Nat is going to kill him.  "If we survive this, wanna get a drink with me after?"  
  
"You're an Avenger --"  
  
"I'm a guy.  With a bow and arrow.  Fighting evil robots."  
  
Mystique smiles.  "First round's on me, Barton."  
  
Well, shit, who saw _that_ coming?  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
**Still in the Sokovian Forest**  
  
  
  
  
Steve would never have seen it coming.    
  
A _robot_ taking out Bruce.  
  
He's taken out Chitauri, HYDRA, Doombots and some of Peter's more bizarre enemies.  There's no reason he shouldn't be able to handle a damn robot.  
  
Even if it is self-aware.  
  
And even if it took out Bruce.  
  
"Erik --"  
  
"We have this," the man assures him.  "Thor, if you would be so kind as to help me create an electromagnetic disturbance..."  
  
"It would be my pleasure."  With that, Thor rises into the air and the skies above immediately start to darken.  
  
And just as Steve starts to have confidence in the plan, four more Sentinel robots appear above them.  
  
"Oh, hey," Ultron comments, shooting a burst of fire towards Thor.  "My guys have found your pal, your buddy, your Bucky.  He took the kids to Disney in Florida, can you believe it?"  He shoots a laser blast in Erik's direction.  "Two of them are your grandkids.  Sorry you won't get to meet them before I kill you."  
  
The lightning Thor sends Ultron's way sums up exactly how Steve is feeling and when Erik starts manipulating the lightning into an electromagnetic storm that sends the Sentinels crashing into each other, he knows Erik is feeling the same way.  
  
And then there's a sonic boom.  
  
"Pietro," Wanda says.  She raises both hands and gestures.  
  
Two of the Sentinels crash into each other and explode.  
  
"Throw your shield, Steve."  
  
"But --"  
  
Wanda touches the shield and it glows red.   "Throw it."  
  
Steve throws the shield and when it strikes Ultron, the explosion is blinding.  
  
"Is that it?" Pietro asks, coming up alongside Steve.  "Did we win?"  
  
There's a smoldering pile of wreckage and it's hard to tell which are the Sentinels and which is Ultron.  
  
"Ultron wasn't that shell," Mystique says, appearing at Steve's elbow.  "The code for the artificial intelligence comes from the scepter and it's loose in the Internet.  This is only the beginning."  
  
Erik lands next to Steve.  He gestures at the wreckage and Steve's shield rises gently, gliding through the air to settle at Steve's feet but when he turns to face Steve, his expression is hard, accusing.  "You withheld information about my  --"  
  
"We weren't sure," Steve cuts him off, laying a hand on Erik's shoulder.  "I'd have told you otherwise.  You see, Erik, the boys are in their teens."  He nods towards Wanda who's in her early twenties.  "You understand our skepticism, don't you?"  
  
"They were conceived through magic," Wanda explains.  " _My_ magic."  
  
There's the faintest flicker of surprise across Erik's face before he schools his features into an expression that Steve has seen in the mirror.  "They're in danger."  
  
"Even with the Quinjet, we won't make it there in time," Tony says quietly.  
  
Wanda smiles.  "We don't need a Quinjet."  
  
And the next thing Steve knows, he's in the Wild West being attacked by killer robots.  
  
Again.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Showdown in Frontierland - the Remix**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Did we go back in time?" Steve wonders aloud.  
  
"Worse," Pietro tells him.  "We went to Disney World.  In Florida."  
  
Steve's heard of Disney World and seen pictures of it.  Heck, he's even thought maybe he'd visit someday, even if Peter is a little old for it.  But Steve never expected he'd end up in the middle of a siege there.  
  
What first seems like complete chaos is actually organized chaos.  Steve quickly takes it all in and discerns Bucky's strategy.  Teddy is up in the sky, coming in close and drawing fire while Peter is clinging to the back of a Sentinel, apparently trying to sabotage its circuitry.  Billy is firing bolts of electro-magnetic energy, providing cover fire for Teddy, Bucky and whoever the speedster is that's making the sonic booms.  Matt, Jessica, Gwen and Jessica Jones have set up a perimeter and are herding the civilians to safety.  
  
"That boy..."  Erik is staring incredulously at Billy.  
  
"That's Billy Kaplan," Steve tells him and it dawns on him that the speedster must be Tommy.  "He calls himself Wiccan."  
  
"My grandson."  As if to prove the point to himself, he shoots a matching burst of electro-magnetic energy, combining it with Billy's.  The Sentinel is slammed backwards by the force of their combined power.    
  
Billy looks over his shoulder and his eyes go wide when he sees Erik.  
  
"Help him," Steve orders Erik, since telling the man to do anything else would be completely pointless.  "Wanda, you're with Bucky and me.  Thor, Tony, go take some of the heat off of Teddy and make sure Peter gets down safely.  Clint, Nat --"  
  
"We've got this, Cap," Clint tells him and turns to Mystique.  "Raven, you wanna give Daredevil and the Spider-girls a hand?"  
  
"On it," she says, shifting into a copy of Nat's tac gear as she runs towards the makeshift perimeter.  
  
Nat raises an eyebrow at Clint.  "Raven?"  
  
"That's her name."  
  
"Raven?!"  
  
"Yeah," Clint says, searching the bizarre Western landscape for his sniper's nest.  "We're on a first name basis."  He glances over at Steve.  "They say you never forget your first trip to Disney."  
  
"Let's hope we survive our first trip to Disney."  Nat takes off at a run, melting into the strange replica town.  
  
Clint jogs after her.  
  
Having given the orders, Steve motions for Wanda to follow and they make their way to the remains of a building called the Countrybear Jamboree where Bucky has taken cover.  He's crouched, guns in each hand and jaw clenched, watching over his team and calling out danger over the comms.  
  
"Channel four," Steve instructs, putting everyone onto the same channel.  
  
"...almost done," Peter is saying.  "There.  I just disabled the guidance system."  
  
"Get off the damn thing, Petey," Bucky growls.  "Just jump.  You've got a bunch of friendlies up there to catch you."  
  
"So," Steve says.  
  
"So," Bucky echoes.  
  
"So, how did you end up in Disneyland?"  
  
"Disney _World_ , Stevie.  Apparently, there's a difference."  
  
"Buck..."  
  
Bucky heaves a put-upon sigh as he watches Peter leap from the back of the Sentinel as it careens into its partner.  Thor catches the boy and swings him onto his back, flying him to safety while the disabled Sentinel crashes to the ground.  "The Ol' Parker Luck, Stevie.  That's the only explanation I've got."  
  
That's the only explanation that makes sense.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
A blind man is fighting killer robots in Disney World.  
  
It's like the punch line of a bad joke.  Then again, it _is_ a bad joke.    
  
Matt fights muggers and rapists, mobsters and the occasional ninja.  He's not equipped to go up against killer robots.  Sure, he can hear the whine of their propulsion systems, their weapons arrays adjusting and taking aim but they're just too much for him to actually _fight_.  
  
"This is what I get for going anywhere with Barnes," Jones mutters.  "Explosions.  Killer robots.  HYDRA probably is behind the whole fucking thing."  
  
"This is what I get for joining the Avengers," Matt agrees.  And fine, he's not fighting the killer robots so much as getting all the tourists safely out of this part of the park but still, killer robots are way outside the scope of his experience.  
  
There's a loud whine, followed by a muffled crash as one of the Sentinels slams into the other and then careens to the ground, where it -- of course -- explodes.  
  
"Two to go," Jones says.  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Last time I hung out with Barnes, I got blown up three fucking times and chased by HYDRA twice.  If Peter has some kind of toxic, bad luck virus thing, Barnes is a damn HYDRA magnet.  The super soldier apple doesn't fall far from the super soldier tree."  
  
"I don't know about that," Matt counters, catching a middle aged woman as she stumbles.  He hears cameras clicking and wonders if the tourists are photographing the Sentinels or him.  "Spider-woman's managed to break the curse."  
  
"I've been dying to ask --"  
  
"Long story for another time."  
  
"What about the other spider-girl?"  
  
"Another long story."  
  
"I'm detecting a trend."  Jones catches a splintered wooden beam from one of the rustic buildings before it can fall on yet another goggling group of tourists.  "Do these stories involve Barnes, explosions and HYDRA?"  
  
"You know," Matt answers slowly, "they do.  They also involve Spider-man."  
  
"Bad idea putting those two together.  Is that Stevie's fault?"  
  
"I'm sure we can find a way to blame him."  
  
"For a guy that dresses up like a devil, you're surprisingly normal, Murdock."  
  
Matt has a feeling that's only a matter of perspective.  
  
After all, they're fighting killer robots in Disney World.  
  
  
  
  
000000000  
  
  
"Hey Billy-boy, check this out."  Tommy skids to a halt next to Billy.  His sneakers are shredded and hanging to his feet by scraps of fabric and rubber but that doesn't seem to bother him.  He reaches out with both hands, aiming for the remaining Sentinel.  "I'm gonna blow that fucker out of the sky."  
  
Tommy is talking so fast it takes Billy a second to realize what he just said.  "Are you nuts?  You can't blow it up!  Teddy and the Avengers are up there!!"  
  
"So?  Just Criss Angel them out of there.  Better hurry.  It's gonna blow any second."  
  
"Ohgodohgodohgod..."  Billy feels like he might be sick.  What if he screws up?  What if he misses someone?  Like Teddy?  Or Thor?  Or Mister Stark?  He concentrates hard.  "Getthemoutoftheregetthemoutoftheregetthemoutofthere..."  
  
The explosion is like something out of a movie, loud and fiery.  
  
Then Thor flies overhead, followed by Teddy and Mister Stark.  
  
Billy heaves a relieved sigh.  "I did it."  
  
" _I_ did it," Tommy declares proudly.  
  
"Unfortunately, you won't be able to do it again," rumbles a rich baritone voice behind them.  
  
They turn to see Magneto.  
  
"Sentinels learn from every encounter and then use that data to neutralize mutants," he lectures.  "And they've just become more dangerous."  
  
"I don't know why you think I look like this guy," Tommy says, jerking a thumb in Magneto's direction.  "Or like you.  Not that I'm not grateful to be free again but we are not rela..."  He trails off as Magneto removes his helmet.  "Holy shit."  
  
"Are you certain there's no resemblance?" Magneto asks.  
  
Billy looks from one to the other.  There's a resemblance all right, especially the eyes.  
  
"So what?" Tommy demands.  "Am I adopted?  Switched at birth?"  His eyes narrow and he whirls to poke Billy in the chest.  "Or did you do this?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Up until this morning, I knew who my parents were.  Now all of a sudden, I'm Magneto the Third or some crazy bullshit and the only one I know who can do crazy bullshit is you, Hermione."  
  
"How could I possibly do this?"  
  
"How the hell would I know? I'm not the one who makes shit appear out of thin air!  Or teleports people to fuckin' Disneyland."  
  
"Disney _World_ ," Billy corrects him.  "Disneyland is in California."  
  
"Who gives a damn!?" Tommy explodes.  "Whatever this is, it's _your_ fault!"  
  
"Boys," Magneto attempts to interrupt.  
  
"Whose fault was it I had to spring you from jail in the first place, you freaking terrorist?"  Billy glares at Tommy, fists on hips.  "And are you trying to blame me for your little shoplifting crime spree, too?"  
  
"Nobody asked you to bust me out --"  
  
"Did you like being treated like a lab r ---?"  
  
"Boys!" Magneto thunders.  "Company is coming.  We need to gather our comrades and move to safer ground."  
  
Billy bites his lip and says uncertainly, "I've never moved so many people--"  
  
"Fortunately for you, your mother can also teleport."  
  
"But where're we gonna go that these tin cans won't find us?" Tommy demands.  
  
Magneto smiles.  "Our homeland.  Genosha."

Billy has no idea where that is or if it even exists.  All he knows is that what started off weird has gotten progressively weirder and more dangerous with each new family member he's met.

Peter has the Ol' Parker Luck.

What kind of luck does Magneto's family have?

 

 

********

 

I know, it's been a bit of a wait for this chapter but boy, has it been a week at work.  Sheesh.

 

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
  
  
**Genosha - In the Dust that was a City**  
  
  
  
  
It's official.  Peter is never leaving New York City again.    
  
Bad enough he's been teleported to deepest New Jersey, followed by a trip to Disney World he'll never forget but now he's here.  Genosha has to be the most depressing place he's ever been.  The buildings are tall, decimated skeletons looming over piles of rubble on scorched, cratered streets.  And it's quiet.  Deathly quiet.  Something horrible happened here and not recently either. " _This_ is the mutant homeland?"  
  
"It was."  With that, Magneto turns regally on his heel and starts to walk, the order to follow implicit.  He gives absolutely no indication that the devastation bothers him.  At least until Peter looks more closely and notices the rigid set of his shoulders.    
  
Billy exchanges confused looks with Peter.  
  
"Dude, there are no people here."  Tommy skids to a halt in front of Magneto.  "What'd you do, kill 'em when they wouldn't go along with your nutso plans for mutant world domination?"  
  
"Shut up!"  Billy scolds him, even as he gestures and restores the shredded sneakers on Tommy's feet to new condition.  "Don't talk to him like that.  H-he's our grandfather."  
  
Tommy snorts.  "Wow, Glenda, I've heard of 'magical thinking' but you take it to a whole new level. What do you think?  Grandpa Magneto is gonna reform so he can give you milk and cookies and tell you bedtime stories about how he tried to kill the President and the X-Men?"  
  
Peter cuts his eyes to Magneto, who's standing stiffly, his back to the bickering maybe-twins and he actually feels sorry for the guy.    
  
"The least you could do is get to know him," Billy protests.  
  
"I don't want to get to know him!  And I don't want to get to know you, either!" Tommy explodes. "I want my life back!  Fix whatever you did and give me my life back!"  
  
"I didn't do anything!"  
  
"You made me related to Mag-freaking-neto!"  
  
"I didn't --"  
  
"Bullshit."  With that, Tommy runs off, his sonic boom echoing loudly in the empty streets.  
  
Billy blows out a sigh, shakes his head and reaches for Magneto's arm, tugging gently until the man turns to look at him.  "He'll come around.  You'll see.  Tommy's just... Well, he was in some scary government prison for the last six months and th-they ---"  
  
"We can tell Magneto the details later," Peter interrupts because the last thing they need now is for Magneto to find out about the ATCU and whatever they did to Tommy.  "I think we're all, um, tired.  Right, Billy?  That was a lot of teleporting.  And I-I've got a concussion so I need to..."  He trails off and winces under his mask.  "Don't tell Bucky."  
  
"You think he's not gonna notice?" Billy asks.    
  
"He's stressed out about other stuff.  Maybe he won't notice," Peter says hopefully.  
  
"Like he didn't notice the time you got shot and told him you were fine?"  
  
Peter buries his masked face in his hand.  "I was _drugged_."  With a sigh, he pulls off his mask.   "Is it noticeable?"  
  
"There's a big bruise on your forehead and your eyes aren't focused," Billy tells him, then adds sarcastically, "It's not noticeable at all."  
  
"You _know_ what he's gonna do."  
  
Billy grins.  "Not if you're all better by the time he looks."  
  
"My healing factor is good but I'd have to be Wolverine or Deadpool to heal that fast."  
  
"Or," Billy says with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile as he gestures at Peter, "I can heal you.  There.  Good as new."  
  
Peter gawks at him.  "Since when --"  
  
"A while now."  Billy turns back to Magneto.  "I believe you're my grandfather.  Do you believe I'm your grandson?"  
  
Magneto actually looks a little _nervous_ as he nods.  "I do."  
  
"Awesome."  And then Billy does the unthinkable.  He _hugs_ Magneto and murmurs, "Zaide."  
  
Peter's mouth drops open.  
  
The look on Magneto's face is somewhere between shock and surprise and then he slowly returns the hug.   When they finally break apart, Magneto peers down at Billy and Peter is sure it's not his imagination that the man's eyes are damp.  "Why did call me that?"  
  
"I-I'm Jewish," Billy stammers, his cheeks turning pink.  "It's Yiddish for 'grandfather' b-but I can call you Magneto or, uh, sir or ---"  
  
"I know what it means," Magneto says.  "I am of Jewish descent and I grew up speaking Yiddish as well as German."  He rests a hand on Billy's shoulder and squeezes.  "If you wish to call me 'zaide', I would be honored."    
  
"You're Jewish?" Peter asks incredulously.  
  
"A story for later, when you boys are rested and fed."  He turns to Peter. "You may call me Erik if you'd like, Peter, though I'd have no objection if you also wished to call me grandfather.  After all, your school already believes this to be the case."  
  
It takes Peter a second to realize that -- holy crap -- the scariest mutant on the planet is _teasing_ him.  
  
"You needn't be frightened of me," Magneto goes on, beckoning them to follow as he steps over the rubble.  "Either of you."  
  
Like that's going to happen.  
  
  
  
00000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Genosha - AKA the Ass-End of the World**  
  
  
  
  
"You take me to all the best places," I tell Barnes, gesturing at all the destruction around us.  "First, New Jersey, then fucking _Disney_ and now the Land of the Zombie Apocalypse."  
  
He doesn't answer me because he's too busy glaring at Magneto, who's talking to Peter and Billy.  His hand drops to his thigh holster.    
  
Before I can say a word, Stevie steps in front of him.  "Buck, no.  We have bigger problems."  
  
"Bigger problems than Billy _hugging_ that moth--?"  
  
"Language!"    
  
"Did Cap just say 'language'?"  Stark drops down beside us and flips up the face plate on his freaky red and gold armor.  "Really, Cap?"  
  
"There are ladies and children present," Stevie mutters.  
  
I roll my eyes.  "Fuck off, Stevie."  
  
There's a gust of air and Tommy skids to a halt in front of Stevie.  "Yo, Captain America.  You got a sec?"  
  
Stevie peels back his cowl and peers down at the kid with concern in his baby blues.  "Sure, son.  What can I do for you?"  
  
"Arrest these maniacs," Tommy says, jerking a thumb in my direction and then towards Barnes.  "They friggin' _kidnapped_ me."  
  
"We broke you out of a super secret probably-HYDRA hellhole," I tell the kid.  "Where they were experimenting on you."  
  
Tommy snorts with all the derision a sixteen year old can.  "Yeah?  And what happened after that?  I almost got my ass fried by _killer robots_ in fuckin' Disney World.   And now look where I am!  Magneto's hellhole homeland.  Oh and for everyone's information, I'm _not_ related to that guy.  That Billy kid did something that screwed up my life."  And then the little bastard gives Stevie puppy dog eyes.  "Please, sir, I just wanna go home."  
  
It's Barnes' turn to snort.  "You think it's gonna be that easy, Speedy?"  
  
" _Speed,_ you cyborg asshole --"  
  
"Language," Stevie and Stark scold him.  
  
Barnes and I exchange looks.  
  
"What is this bullshit?"  There's another gust of wind and suddenly I'm looking at an older version of Tommy, speaking in an Eastern European accent.  "Where did this kid come from?"  
  
The woman in the really great red leather jacket that I noticed hanging around Stevie earlier comes up beside Tommy Senior.  Now that I'm getting my first good look at her, I do a double-take.   She looks like Billy.  "Pietro, I can explain --"  
  
"Did you do this, Wanda?" Pietro demands.  
  
Tommy shakes his head and starts to back away.  "No.  No friggin' way.   She is _not_ my mother.  I have a mother and it's not her!"  With that, he takes off.  Less than a heartbeat later, there's a sonic boom from deep within Magneto's shithole homeland.  
  
"You think it's a good idea to let him run off like that?" I ask Barnes.  
  
"You want I should run after him, Jones?"  
  
I flip him off.  "Fuck off."  
  
He flips me off.  "I'm not the one who can fly, am I?  You wanna go after him, _Jewel_ , better start flapping your wings instead of your mouth."  
  
"You did this?" Pietro repeats.  
  
Wanda nods.  "I believe so.  Probably during one of von Strucker's many attempts to stabilize my abilities with that cursed scepter of his.  The boy and his twin are my sons."  
  
Pietro pales.  "Who is their father?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"That boy looks like me."  
  
"And _you_ look like _our_ father."  Wanda rolls her eyes at her brother.  "You're Tommy's uncle.  That's all."  
  
Barnes and I exchange relieved looks that _our_ twins aren't the result of freaky magic twincest.  
  
Pietro huffs out a breath.  "Fine.  I'll go after the foul-mouthed little fucker."   And then he's gone.  
  
We all look at each other, except for Barnes who's back to glaring at Magneto again.  
  
"C'mon, Barnes.  Let's make sure those two speedy assholes don't kill each other."  I scoop him up bride-style and launch us unsteadily into the sky, away from the mutant insanity below before he or anyone else can protest.  
  
I can only hope Peter's fucked up luck and Barnes' HYDRA-attraction aren't contagious.  
  
  
  
000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Definitely Not Over the Rainbow**  
  
  
  
"Are you okay?" Even as she asks, Jessica already knows what Matt is going to say.  
  
"I'm fine."  There it is.  Matt's so predictable.  
  
Gwen snorts.  "Glad to hear it.  You've got to tell me your secret because I am completely freaking over here.  I mean, you should see this place.  It's like a war zone or something."  
  
Jessica considers explaining that Matt _can_ see, in his own way.  Maybe another time.  
  
"There's nobody here," Matt says quietly.  "Nobody except us."  He tilts his head slightly and points to their left.  "I can hear electricity humming, coming from over there.  Same direction Magneto is going."  
  
Kate pulls a face.  " _Why_ are we following Magneto anywhere?  He tried to kill us not that long ago."  
  
"You think that's bad?" Matt scowls under his mask.  "Clint is flirting with Mystique."  
  
"Ugh."  
  
"And Billy just called Magneto 'grandfather'."  
  
"Ewww."  Now it's Jessica's turn to make a face.  
  
"And Magneto just told Peter he could, too."  
  
"Ewwww," Jessica, Kate and Gwen chorus.  
  
Natasha turns in their direction, eyebrow raised and then heads over.  "Clint and _Raven_?"  
  
"Raven?" Matt asks.  
  
"Mystique's _human_ name is Raven," Natasha says, voice dripping sarcasm.  
  
"Oh my God," Gwen groans.  "How is this my life?  _Is_ this my life now?  Killer robots, Magneto, Clint's messed up taste in women and trips to weird places?  Is this what happens when you're a spider-person?"  
  
"It's what happens when you start spending time with _Steve_ ," Matt says.  
  
"This was my life before I met Steve," Natasha shrugs.  
  
They all look at her, except for Matt who just stands there, attention fixed on Natasha, with a funny little smile on his face.  
  
Suddenly, there's a sonic boom.  
  
And then another.  
  
And then Jessica Jones picks up Bucky and flies off with him.  
  
Jessica shrugs at Gwen.  "You get used to it."  
  
"Really?" Gwen asks skeptically.  
  
"Not really but you learn to roll with it," Kate tells her.  "Besides, what else were you going to do?  It's not like there's anything on tv."  
  
Jessica doesn't have the heart to tell Gwen that it only gets weirder.  
  
That's the Ol' Parker Luck in action.

 

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
  
  
  
**Up, Up and Away**  
  
  
  
  
"You don't really expect to find them, do you?" Barnes asks.  
  
"Nope."  Jones narrowly avoids a head-on collision with brightly colored bird that squawks indignantly as she passes.  "Let's face it.  By the time we get where they are, they're gone."  
  
"Then why --?"  
  
"Because you needed to cool down."  She slowly circles above the devastated city and her frown deepens in intensity.  "It looks like New Orleans after Katrina."  
  
"Katrina who?"  
  
"What's that kid been teaching you, Barnes?  _Hurricane_ Katrina.  A Category 5 hurricane that hit New Orleans in 2005 and tore the place apart.  It was one of the five deadliest hurricanes ever.  I'm guessing this was one of the other four."  
  
"Or it was Magneto," Barnes says.  "Petey once said something about the bastard being able to manipulate the earth's magnetic fields.  It was a little hard for me to follow but I remember something about tidal waves.  The rest was a lot of scientific formulas."  
  
"Why would he destroy the mutant ho -- holy shit!"  There's a sickening moment where they start to plummet before Jones steadies out again, bringing them down gently into what at first looks like some kind of grassy meadow.  
  
Until Barnes sees the giant metal sculpture in the center. It's dark metal, solemn looking, with a date in bold lettering.  "Krolik Foothills Mutant Mass Grave, May 21, 1995."  
  
"Here lie the remains of an unknown number of mutant citizens of Genosha, systematically murdered by their government in forced labor camps and later, through intentional exposure to the Legacy Virus.  It is estimated that a total of two million mutants and mutant sympathizers perished in this holocaust.  No indigenous mutant inhabitants of Genosha survived," Jones reads.  She turns to Barnes.  "I'm guessing Magneto wasn't very happy about this."  
  
He narrows his eyes.  "Wouldn't it have been big news?"  
  
"You'd think but I never heard about any of it.  Granted, I was a kid when all of this happened but you'd figure --"  
  
"You'd figure if word got out that Magneto got pissed off and took out an entire island, people would panic," Barnes concludes.  
  
There's a gust of wind and an out of breath Tommy is standing next to them, his sneakers a shredded mess of leather and melted rubber.  "Fuck you guys."  
  
"Fuck you, too, you ungrateful little bastard," Barnes tells him.  He's really starting to like this kid.  "You cool down yet?"  
  
The kid flips him off.  "I hate this fucking place."  
  
"Join the fucking club," Jones shrugs.  "Unfortunately, we have killer robots chasing us and supposedly, this shithole is a safe haven, what with all the natives being dead and all."  
  
Tommy's eyes go wide and then he reads the sign.  "What the ever-lovin' fuck, man?  Why are we on psycho island with king psycho?  You gotta know he wanted the payback.  With fuckin' interest."  
  
"You've got some mouth on you."  Pietro skids to a halt next to Tommy, leaving deep indentations in the grass.  He notices the sign and his eyes narrow as he works to translate the words and then he does a little dance, like he thinks he's actually standing on top of corpses. "Holy fucking shit."  
  
Barnes rolls his eyes at Pietro.  "We're figuring your daddy wanted his pound of flesh."  
  
"No shit, Sherlock," Pietro shoots back.  "Why do you think I want nothing to do with the man?"  
  
"And I want nothing to do with _any_ of you assholes," Tommy declares.  
  
"Too fucking bad," Pietro tells him.  "My sister made you --"  
  
"She did not _make_ me."  Tommy is indignant now and he's also restlessly pacing, hands twitching at his sides with nervous energy.  "I'm not some fucking _magic trick_ , conjured out of thin air --"  
  
"No, you weren't."  Pietro reaches out and grabs the kid's shoulders.  "Wanda manipulates probabilities.  Don't even ask me how that works.  The math and science make my head hurt when I think about it.  But what it means, is that if she wants something to happen, it does.  She wanted children.  She has them."  
  
"But why _me_?" Tommy whines and he sounds dangerously close to tears.  "And does that mean maybe I didn't always look like this?  That I didn't have these powers?  But fuckin' _Wanda_ \--"  
  
"Hey!"  Pietro gives him a shake.  "You may not like it and you may not want to accept it, but she's your mother.  And you speak about her with respect."  
  
"I don't know who I am!" Tommy shouts.  "I can't trust my memories!"  
  
Barnes can feel Jones' eyes on him as he nudges Pietro out of the way and slings an arm around Tommy's shoulders, drawing him into a hug.  "You're gonna think I'm bullshitting you, kid, but I know what that feels like."  
  
"Why?  Did Wanda make you, too?"  
  
"HYDRA made me."  
  
That stops Tommy's sniffling.  "What?"  
  
"What do the history books say about me?"    
  
"That you're dead."  
  
"But I'm not, am I?"  Barnes lets go of the boy.  "The first time I was a POW, HYDRA experimented on me and dosed me with a weak version of the super soldier serum.  When I fell from the train in the Alps, I didn't die.  They recovered me, gave me this arm and took my memories.  They turned me into a weapon, their Winter Soldier.  I spent seventy years not knowing my own name, being stuck in cryo when they didn't need me --"  
  
"Jesus," Tommy says, looking up at him and wiping his eyes with his sleeve.  "Do you remember now?"  
  
"Some stuff."  He focuses his attention on the kid, not on Jones or Pietro because he doesn't want their pity.  "My point, Tommy, ain't that I suffered more but that if you want someone to talk to, to vent about how pissed off you are... You got me.  I can't fix your problems, but I can listen."  
  
Tommy flings his arms around Barnes.  
  
Jones shakes her head.  "If only HYDRA could see their deadly weapon now."  
  
"I always thought Captain America and Bucky were American imperialist propaganda," Pietro muses.  "And weren't you supposed to be a kid?  In tights?"  
  
"I never wore tights!"  
  
Jones smirks.  
  
"Don't you dare, Jones," Barnes warns her before she can bring up his stint as Spidey.  Again.   "And for the record, I'm a year older than Stevie.  The kid sidekick thing was some Hollywood bullshit."  
  
Pietro's smirk mirrors Jones'.  "But didn't you just tell us how your memories --?"  
  
"Zip it, Zippy."  
  
For the first time since Barnes laid eyes on the kid, Tommy cracks a smile.  And then he raises his chin at Barnes.  "You think we oughtta get back and tell Captain America about what really happened here and how maybe he shouldn't trust my evil grand-daddy so fuckin' much?"  
  
"I sure as shit do," Jones says.  She points to the comm link in her ear.  "And isn't it lucky for all of you assholes that I know we have to look for the building with the M flag."  
  
"Naturally."  Pietro rolls his eyes.  "My father is so humble."  
  
Tommy eyes Pietro.  "How fast're you, Uncle Pete?"  
  
"Pretty fucking fast," Pietro tells him.  "How fast are _you_?"  
  
"Faster than you!"  And with that, the kid takes off.  
  
"That little fucker."  With a whoosh, Pietro goes after him.  
  
Jones closes her eyes and rubs the bridge of her nose.  "Want to take the long way back, Barnes?"  
  
"I'm thinking a little more recon won't hurt, Jones."  Stevie can watch over Petey until he gets back.  Not as well as Barnes would, but well enough.  It's himself that Stevie doesn't take care of.  Besides, flying is peaceful and Barnes loves it.  
  
Jones scoops him up again.  "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning?"  
  
"This is Never Land, all right," Barnes agrees.  "As in I never want to come back here."  
  
"I never wanted to be here in the first place."  
  
"What else were you gonna do?"  
  
"Believe it or not, I've got paying clients and better cases now."  
  
"You said you'd call me for the good ones."  
  
"I lied."  
  
"I'm hurt, Jones.  You _lied_ to me --"  
  
"Because getting blown up and chased by HYDRA is bullshit, Barnes.  And now we're getting chased by killer robots.  Hanging out with you is bad for my health.  As in, it's going to get me fucking killed."  
  
And she loves every second of it.  
  
He can tell.  
  
So does he.  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
**Genosha Capitol Building... Maybe**  
  
  
  
  
The ornate building Erik leads them into is missing its top three stories but it turns out that doesn't matter because everything is underground.  Erik's brief explanation is that this building once housed the Genoshan parliament but it's since been repurposed as his bunker.  They climb down the stairs to the fourth level where there are living quarters and it's immediately apparent that there aren't enough rooms for everyone.  
  
"Perhaps the children can share," Erik suggests.    
  
Kate is the first to speak.  "Gwen, Jess and I can share."  
  
"Teddy and I can, too," Billy offers.    
  
"That's not exactly a hardship," Teddy agrees.  
  
Erik looks from one boy to the other and then at Steve and it's obvious he's picked up on their relationship.  "Mind yourselves, gentlemen."  
  
The two flush deeply.  
  
"Peter, Buck and I can all bunk together," Steve offers.  
  
It takes a few minutes to square everyone away.  Bruce, who Steve knows would prefer to be on his own, ends up sharing space with Thor, who's been carrying his unconscious form since they left Sokovia.  After that, Erik invites Steve to join him for a drink in the common area on Level 1 while they wait for their strays to return home.  
  
Erik looks weary as he settles into a chair, his uniform once again shifting into casual-but-elegant clothing.  "No doubt you're wondering what happened here."  
  
"That _is_ the obvious question," Steve agrees.  
  
"What happened was genocide."  Erik straightens and locks eyes with Steve.  "During the late 1980s, the Genoshan government became increasingly concerned about their mutant population.  They passed legislation requiring citizens to carry identification cards.  In 1991, the government began 'resettling' mutants in the Prenova Province.  Extermination began in late 1992."  
  
Steve stares at him, unable to form words.  
  
"Naturally, Charles attempted to use diplomacy but of course, the United Nations took no action.   They graciously let him address the Assembly."  Erik's mouth twists in disgust.  "I was imprisoned in the newly remodeled Triskelion and knew none of this.  It was only when a team of Genoshan scientists unleashed the so-called Legacy Virus, a virus designed to kill anyone with an active or dormant X-gene, that Charles came to see me."  He pauses to take a sip of his drink.  "A week later, the entire mutant population of Genosha was dead and that was the day Charles engineered my escape.  He knew what I would do and he needed me to do it.  Wanted me to do it. Because he couldn't.  And because he knew it needed to be done."  
  
There's nothing to say, nothing _for_ Steve to say.  All he can do now is listen until Erik is finished telling his story.  
  
"I'm not proud of what I did, you understand.  I know retribution will come.  But I also know this.  No government will again dare to do what Genosha did to its mutants, not as long as I'm alive.  Never again."  Erik sinks back into his chair.  "So you see, Charles' hands are not so clean as he wants you to believe.  He needs me to do what he cannot while he espouses peaceful coexistence."  
  
"You said this was the mutant homeland," Steve manages finally.  
  
"And so it is.  The United Nations ceded the remains of Genosha to me in exchange for my promise not to do elsewhere what I did here."  Erik finishes his drink.  "You won't find mention of it anywhere, official or even unofficial.  The deal was brokered by your Nick Fury and his World Security Council.  Charles strategically altered memories at Fury's direction."  He sets his glass down and folds his hands in his lap.  "Two million mutants were slaughtered, Steven."  
  
"How many innocent Genoshans --?"  
  
"They were as innocent as the Poles who lived outside the Warsaw Ghetto or the German citizens who lived outside the concentration camps, breathing in the ashes of dead Jews every day!" Erik thunders.  "Do not talk to me of their innocence!  They were complicit in every way!  They voted for the legislation that required mutant registration."  He rises to his feet.  "Twelve million, to answer your question.  I slaughtered twelve million Genoshans."  Erik eyes Steve coldly.  "Before you judge me, ask yourself what you'll do when your government passes that registration act they're considering and they come for Peter."  
  
Steve stands up.  "I can't condone --"  
  
"Then do not.  But do not presume to judge me."  He exhales and some of the tension drains from his shoulders.  "You'll be in my shoes soon enough and when they send the Sentinels or worse after you, you'll be welcome here."  
  
There are a dozen things Steve wants to say, to ask.  
  
"I don't fancy myself a martyr but I'll play the villain to Charles' hero for as long as I must until we can be sure that no government will ever again systematically slaughter its mutant population."  
  
"You say that like it's something you and Charles agreed on."  
  
Erik smiles and taps the side of his nose with his finger.    
  
"But..."  
  
"You don't know him as I do," Erik says slowly.  "But then again, we've been lovers for so very long, you couldn't possibly."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Good night, Steven."  
  
Steve is pretty sure there's nothing good about it.

 

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

  
Chapter 17  
  
  
  
**Bunking with Billy and Teddy**  
  
  
  
  
Teddy is worried about Billy.  
  
What Billy did to this room they're staying in worries him.  With seemingly no effort at all, Billy redecorated it, making the double bed a queen size with soft sheets and even freaking mints on the pillow.  Matching pajamas were even laid out on it.  The walls are now covered in tasteful wallpaper.  
  
What Billy did with _Magneto_...  
  
"Teddy?  What's wrong?"  Billy's fingers drop from his headpiece and his hands rest at his sides.     "Don't you like what I did to the room?"  
  
"Where's all this power coming from?"    
  
Billy shrugs.  "I don't know."  
  
"Not long ago, transporting the team from Queens to Arlington exhausted you and look at you now --"  
  
"I'm wired, that's all."  
  
Teddy doesn't want to fight.  He really doesn't.  But Billy has to see reason.  _He's_ the one who needs to be worried, maybe even more than Teddy does.  "Wired doesn't explain how you transported us all the way here without putting yourself into a coma or something.  You should be _exhausted_ Billy, not asking me whether I want thousand count instead of eight hundred count sheets!"  
  
"But I'm not.  I mean, sure, I'm probably going to crash really hard eventually but..."  Billy runs a hand through his hair, making it even unrulier than usual.  He blows out a breath and taps his temple with his forefinger.  "There's a lot going on in here."  
  
"Okay," Teddy relents, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  "Tell me."  
  
Billy starts pacing.  "Wanda didn't talk to me.  She looked right at me and she didn't talk to me, Teddy!  So did her brother, the one who looks exactly like Tommy --"  
  
"She called him Pietro, I think."  
  
"Why didn't she want to talk to me?"  Billy's voice breaks and Teddy's heart goes right along with it.  "I want to talk to _her_.  I mean, her powers seem kinda like mine.  Maybe she can tell me about how they work.   A-and exactly _how_ is she my mother when I already have a mother?  How did she _do_ that --?"  
  
"How about _why_ did she do that?" Teddy asks.  "And maybe she does want to talk to you but she's a little scared herself.   Freaked, even."  
  
"Like you freaked when I hugged Erik?"  
  
Teddy winces.  This is one subject that he definitely didn't want to get into tonight. Or this morning.  The time change is throwing him off along with everything else.  "He's Erik now?"  
  
"He said I could call him that," Billy says.  "He'd probably have told you that you could if you came over so I could introduce you."    
  
"You _hugged_ Magneto."  It looks like they're going there, no matter how much Teddy doesn't want to do it.  
  
"He's my grandfather."  
  
"And Hitler was Eva Braun's boyfriend.  It didn't make him any less of a bad guy."  
  
"Are you seriously comparing Erik to Hitler?"  
  
Teddy gets to his feet again.  "We've talked about this _so_ many times, Billy.  My feelings about _Erik_ and his mutant superiority agenda haven't changed.  Have yours?"  
  
"Of course they haven't!  How could you ask me that?" Billy bristles indignantly.  "But maybe...  Maybe there's good in him.  Maybe --"  
  
"Maybe this is real life and not a Star Wars movie."  
  
Billy's mouth drops open.    
  
Before Teddy can say he's sorry, there's a flash of bright light and Billy is gone.  
  
Sleep is going to have to wait.  
  
He has to go find his boyfriend.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Meanwhile, Down the Hall...**  
  
  
  
  
Matt isn't sure whether he should tell Teddy where to look for Billy.  Now that he knows that the electromagnetic vibration is Billy using his powers and he can hear Billy's heartbeat from his new location, he knows the boy teleported.  Just like he knows Peter is talking to himself and that his Jessica is sound asleep and so are Kate and Gwen.    
  
Steve's heartbeat is a level above.  Bruce and Thor are sleeping.  And Tony is having an animated conversation with JARVIS as they hack into Magneto's network.  He wants to study the data he extracted from something called Ultron and look through the files he took from somebody named von Strucker for more information.  
  
And Natasha is breaking into his room.  
  
"You're still in your devil suit.  Were you planning on sneaking out and snooping around?" she asks by way of greeting.  "Or do you sleep in it?"  
  
"You're welcome to stay and find out," he counters, easily slipping into their verbal dance.  The attraction is there.  They've just never had the opportunity to act on it.  Yet.  Not that this is the opportunity.    
  
Natasha snorts softly.  "I'm not staying and neither are you.  We have secrets to sniff out."  
  
"Isn't this the kind of thing you usually do with Clint?"  
  
"Clint's busy making bad life choices with Mystique," she says wryly.  "Should we give them a cute couple name?  Clinique?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"That's a cosmetics company and also a joke.  I'm Russian.  My sense of humor is a little different than yours.  Still, you have to admit, it's funny."  Most people fidget when their jokes fall flat.  Natasha is perfectly still, her breathing is even and so are her pulse and respiration.  "Jessica might find it funny, assuming she knows about makeup."  
  
"That was one of Kate's first 'girl lessons'," Matt tells her.  "It came right after the lecture about why waxing is better than shaving, followed by Jessica's first appointment with Kate's technician.  She stayed on the ceiling for hours after she came home."    
  
"I don't blame her.  I usually go to the range and shoot targets after my appointments."  She opens the door to Matt's room and gestures for him to exit.  "How traumatized were you?"  
  
"Very.  I had no idea how much work went into being a girl."  
  
"You still don't."  
  
"I probably never will."   He steps into the hallway and tilts his head as he gives Natasha the rundown on who's up and about.  "The two speedsters just arrived.  They're arguing and using _very_ foul language, I might add.   Steve is on the main level, waiting for Bucky and Jones.  And Teddy is looking for Billy."  
  
"What happened to Billy?" Natasha asks.  
  
"The two of them had an argument and he teleported."  Matt stops just short of telling her where the boy went.  
  
Not that it does him any good.  "He's in Magneto's room and they're talking.  First place I snooped before I came to get you."  
  
"Who is Ultron?" Matt asks.  "Tony's having a conversation with JARVIS about him."  
  
Natasha comes as close to a sigh as she ever will.  "That's a long story and you know Steve will have one of his debriefing sessions later so we can all figure out what's really going on."  
  
He doesn't even need his enhanced senses to know she's deliberately avoiding the question.  "I have information to trade."  
  
"We're trading information now?"  
  
"You tell me.  Do you want to know what happened here?"  He's got her interest.  "I overheard Magneto's entire explanation to Steve."  
  
"So did I."  Natasha pats his shoulder.  "Nice try, though."  
  
Enhanced senses or not, Matt has a feeling he's always going to be outmatched when it comes to Natasha.  
  
It's a good thing they're on the same side.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
**Hotel M**  
  
  
  
I'm dead tired by the time I land in front of Magneto's evil lair.  "Flight's over, Lois.  You can let go now."  
  
"Huh?" Barnes asks.  
  
"Lois _Lane_?"  
  
"Huh?" Barnes repeats.  
  
I roll my eyes at him.  "It's a line from a cheesy 1970s Superman movie.  I'm going to have to have a little talk with Petey about cultural shit you need to know."  
  
"Petey's been doin' a good job with that," Barnes defends the kid.  Of course he does.  "I'm sure he'll get around to cheesy Superman movies and whatever else you think he needs me to know about when we're not busy fighting HYDRA and whatnot every other week."  He doesn't huff indignantly but he stalks into the building where Stevie is waiting for us.  
  
"Pietro and Tommy are back," Steve tells us.  He cuts his eyes to me.  "You're bunking with Natasha.  Four levels down, fifth door on your left."  
  
It's not a dismissal so much as a hint he wants to talk to Barnes alone.  Of course I ignore it.  I get _paid_ to hear things people don't want me to hear.  Besides, Barnes might need backup when he tells Stevie what we saw out there in the Krolik Foothills.  The poor bastard's memory is like Swiss cheese.  
  
Barnes slings his arm over my shoulders and raises an eyebrow at Stevie in a silent challenge.  
  
"There's a common area with a kitchen one level down," Stevie relents.  "Come on, you two."  
  
I shrug Barnes' arm off.  
  
The bastard holds my fucking hand.  With his metal one.  
  
"You're an asshole, Barnes," I hiss.  "Let the fuck go."  
  
Stevie turns around because of course he heard that.  He's got super fucking hearing.  His eyes immediately drop to Barnes metal fingers, intertwined with mine.  And then his shoulders start to shake in silent laughter as he quickly turns away.  
  
"It's not funny, Stevie," I snap, kicking Barnes' shin. "Let go, damn it."  
  
Barnes lets go.  And of course he's smirking.  He's _such_ an asshole sometimes.    
  
We follow Stevie through a solid metal door and down a flight of stairs and through another metal door into a plush, carpeted space that looks nothing like the common area in Avengers' Tower.  Where the room in the Tower is sleek and modern, this room is decorated in a style I can only think of as 'Early Stifling European' with ugly wallpaper and overstuffed chairs.  The only good thing in the room is the fully stocked bar.  Naturally, I make myself right at home.  
  
"Jones took me on a tour of Metropolis --"  
  
"You didn't see the movie, Barnes.  You don't get to make references to it."  
  
He blows out an exasperated breath.  "She flew us around this shithole.  There's nobody else here --"  
  
"I know," Stevie interrupts him.  
  
We both stare at him.  
  
"Erik told me."  There's a heavy pause and then he adds, "Everything."  
  
"Everything as in how he probably wiped out all people?" I ask.  
  
Stevie nods and in that moment, he looks his age.  Not his biological one.  The chronological one.  "There's a lot more to the story than you'd think."  
  
"There'd have to be," Barnes bites out and then changes the subject.  "Where's Petey?"  
  
"Sleeping and not sneaking around, I hope.  We're sharing a room with him."  
  
"Did you look him over?"  
  
Stevie winces and shakes his head.  "There wasn't an opportunity but he seemed fine --"  
  
"Do you remember how he looked me in the eye and told me he was fine when he had a fuckin' bullet wound?" Barnes demands, his parental hackles raised now.  "You've gotta watch that kid like a hawk, Stevie.  He's worse than you ever were when it came to pretending not to be beat to shit.  He could be _bleeding_ _out_ or something --"  
  
"He was fine and even if he wasn't, you know his healing factor works best when he sleeps."  
  
"Maybe you should go check on him, Barnes," I suggest.  "You know, instead of kicking Stevie's ass about it."  
  
"Three levels below us," Stevie tells him.  "Second door on the right."  
  
"Be back in a few minutes," Barnes says.  He gives me a pointed look.  "Behave yourself and don't needle Stevie while I'm gone."  
  
I flip him off.  
  
He returns the gesture and takes off at a jog.  
  
Stevie takes the bottle from my hand and takes a swig.  "It has absolutely no effect but it makes me feel better."  
  
"Takes a lot for me."  
  
"You must have an enhanced metabolism."  
  
"Barnes didn't spill all my secrets to you?"  
  
"That's Buck for you.  Loyal."  
  
"Half Saint Bernard, half Scotch shepherd dog."  
  
That earns me a rueful smile.  "The Call of the Wild.  He got teased something fierce in school about that."  
  
There's a long pause when we both realize that there's a lot of similarity between the plot of London's novel and Barnes' life.  I take a long drink from the bottle of bourbon.  It's a good one, expensive.  I wonder if Magneto enjoys a glass of it after a day of committing genocide.  
  
Stevie looks like he wants to heave a good deep sigh and I actually feel kind of sorry for him so I  pass him the bottle.  "Thanks."  
  
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown," I say.  "Or in your case, carries the shield."  
  
"I think that quote would work better if I carried the shield on my head."  
  
"Or wore a freaky helmet like Magneto."  
  
"I did," he tells me with a straight face and I can't tell whether he's fucking with me or not.  Who knew Captain America was such a little shit?  "The whole team wore them."  
  
"You are so full of --"  
  
"Captain America never lies."  
  
"Fine.  I'll bite.  Why were you wearing a Magneto helmet?"  
  
"To keep the telepaths out of my head," he says, like it should be obvious.  
  
"What'd you do?   Line it with tinfoil?"  
  
"Tony asked Magneto that same question," Stevie tells me.  "Turns out there's some kind of tech involved."  
  
"And amazingly enough, you don't have helmet hair.  That super soldier serum you got must be  some really good shit if you've got super hair along with the rest of the deal."  
  
"Most people ask me about, uh, other things the serum enhanced."  
  
"I don't give a shit about the things most people concern themselves with."  I stuff my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket to avoid reaching for the bottle of bourbon again, no matter how badly I want it.  There's too much craziness going on for me to be anything less than completely on my game.  "Stuff like why Captain America is here on Magneto's Murder Island, hanging out in Hotel M."  
  
"I'd like to know that too," Barnes says, stepping out of the stairwell.  "Petey's fine, by the way."  
  
"Did you tuck him in?" I ask.  
  
"Always do."  He helps himself to the bourbon.  "Okay, Stevie, what'd you do?"  
  
"What'd _you_ do?" Stevie counters.  "And why were you doing it in Disney World?"  
  
It doesn't take a genius to know we're going to need a _lot_ more bourbon.

 

 

 ***************

 

 Whoa, what a week at work.  Not only did it cut into my writing time but my head was so wrecked I couldn't even form a complete sentence.  A commenter suggested that the Ol' Parker Luck might be affecting me and I think there might be something to that theory!  Anyway, with a little luck, we'll get at least one more chapter during this three day weekend.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
  
  
**M is for Mortified**  
  
  
  
  
  
" _Mein Gott_!"  
  
"Oh crap!"   Billy is frozen in place in Erik's bedroom, staring helplessly at the man sitting up in his bed and Billy is thinking how weird it is that he now knows that Magneto gets bed-head just like everyone else.  "I-I...oh..oh God...  I didn't mean... I-I'll go a-and uh..."  
  
Erik's tone is gentle.  "You did mean it, even if perhaps you were not aware you did."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I've known a teleporter or two in my time.  They must focus on a destination," he explains and his mouth curves upwards into a smile.  "You were thinking of me and so here you are."  
  
Billy flushes even deeper.  "I-I...it wasn't like that.  I...  Oh God... I'm sorry.  So, so sorry --"  
  
"I think it might have been a little like that."  The man's eyes search his face and then he shifts over, making room on the bed and patting the space beside him.  "You're upset.  Come, sit.  Talking helps sometimes, yes?"  
  
"Y-yes," Billy stammers because stammering is all he's capable of.  "My mom's a psychologist and talk therapy is..."  He trails off and winces.  "My other mom.  My, um, birth mom.  Oh jeez.  I've got two moms.  I've got two moms and a twin brother who hates me and a boyfriend who's probably never going to speak to me again and a grandfather who thinks I'm an idiot child who babbles like a --"  
  
"Shhhhh."  Erik pats the bed again and gives him an expectant look.  
  
Biting his lower lip, Billy takes a step and then realizes he's still in his Wiccan costume.  It doesn't take any effort at all to put himself into a comfortable pair of sweats and his favorite T-shirt.  It reads, 'Shirts with witty sayings on them are stupid' and maybe it's obnoxiously ironic but Teddy gave it to him and he loves it.  He gingerly settles next to Erik.  
  
"Have you given any thought to studying at Charles' school?" Erik asks.    
  
The question knocks Billy for a loop.  "B-but you're _enemies_ \--"  
  
"We have different points of view but he would not turn you away simply because of your connection to me."  Erik runs a hand through his hair and the gesture is achingly familiar because Billy knows he does that too when he's got a thought that he's struggling to express.  "Your powers are impressive, Billy, but you need to be able to control them."  
  
"Bucky said the same thing," Billy says and then adds in a mumble, "After I almost electrocuted him."  
  
"He is right."   Erik's eyes narrow in thought.  "Tell me, do you practice yoga?  Meditate?"  
  
"Uh, kind of.  Mostly I have panic attacks."  
  
That elicits a soft chuckle.  "Mental and physical discipline are crucial.  Your body is adapting to the power it houses but you should help it by exercising and keeping yourself in peak physical condition.  Yoga and meditation teach you focus and control.  Has Sergeant Barnes instructed you in this?"  
  
"He's given me a workout regimen and Ma -- uh, Daredevil taught us all some basic meditation stuff," Billy says.  "The rest of what I do comes from my mom's self help books.  You know, like focusing on a goal and visualizing it."  
  
Erik smiles at him.  "Those are a good beginning and you'd find that Charles is an excellent teacher ---"  
  
"But I don't want to leave my friends."  
  
"If you can't control your abilities, you may _hurt_ your friends unintentionally."  
  
"Like I hurt Kesler," Billy sighs.  
  
Erik raises an eyebrow questioningly.  
  
Billy ducks his head and mumbles, "The school bully."  
  
"He picked on you because you're --"  
  
"Gay.  I didn't know I was even _more_ of a freak until I zapped him."    
  
"You are not a freak, Billy and this is where I would explain to you about mutant superiority but I think perhaps this is not the time for such a discussion," Erik says.  His hand lifts, like he's thinking of touching Billy but then he drops his hand back into his lap.  "Are your birth parents supportive?"  
  
Billy groans, thinking about how _that_ went.  "I-I tried to come out to them about being a mutant and they thought I was coming out to them about my relationship with Teddy.  They welcomed him to the family."  
  
Erik barks out a laugh and this time, he does reach out and pat Billy's knee.  "Do not think of it as a setback.  Think of it as being halfway there."  
  
"You're pretty chill for a guy who just found out his grandkids are only a few years younger than his actual kids."  
  
"Appearances are deceiving, my boy.  Inside I am... what is the phrase you children use... freaking."  Erik runs a hand through his hair again.  "Wanda and Pietro were lost to me for a very long time.  This is my first time meeting them and then to discover in the same day that I have two fine young grandchildren...  It's overwhelming."  
  
"Wait.  Back that up.  You just met them?!"  
  
"It is a long story, one that will wait for the family to be gathered so that we can unravel the mystery of your existence."  Erik slants a look at Billy.  "I have my own theories, of course, but then Charles and I have been studying the mutant phenomenon for many decades."  
  
It's the second time Erik's referred to Professor X as 'Charles' and spoken almost fondly of the man.  "Are you and Professor X _friends_?"  
  
"Our relationship is complicated," Erik says simply.  
  
Billy stares at him, starts to open his mouth and then closes it.  No.  He can't ask the Master of Magnetism if he's queer.  He tries to think of a safe question.  "Is my grandmother still alive?"  
  
"She died a very long time ago."  
  
"Huh?  Wanda's in her early twenties."  
  
"It is a long story."  
  
"You say that a lot."  
  
"I've lived a long life."  
  
"A long complicated life."  
  
"Just so."  There's a comfortable silence while Erik studies him.  And what he says next knocks Billy for a loop.  Again.  "I've done many things I know you must find distasteful.   Some of these things I regret.  Others, I do not.  Nevertheless, I have done them and I cannot undo them.  But always, my motivation was clear; to make the world safe for mutantkind.  I imagine it was this that led to your argument with Teddy."  
  
"He compared you to Hitler."  
  
"He's not the first," Erik shrugs and then he leans in closer to Billy and speaks in a confidential tone.  "You like irony, yes?  Shall I show you how ironic that statement is?"  
  
Billy is almost afraid to nod.  
  
Erik rolls up the left sleeve of his pajama top and holds his forearm out for Billy's inspection.  
  
The numbers tattooed there draw Billy's eyes and his mouth goes dry.  
  
"Never again," Erik says with quiet fervor.  He tugs his sleeve down and reaches out to cup Billy's cheek in a gentle caress.  "It's time for you to go back to bed, _zeisele_.  We'll speak again in the morning."  
  
Impulsively, Billy flings his arms around the man for the second time.  He wants to get to know Erik, even if Teddy doesn't agree.  He thinks he could even come to love the man, in spite of who he is and what he's done.  "Good night, zaide."  
  
There's a hitch in Erik's breath, as if he can tell what Billy is feeling.  "Good night, Billy."  
  
Just as he lets go and slides off the bed, Erik speaks again.  
  
"Billy?"  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Perhaps you should use the door this time."  
  
Oy.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Truth and Consequences**  
  
  
  
  
"We're in deep shit."  
  
Steve has to agree with Jones.  Now that he understands how everything fits together -- mostly -- he knows they've got a long, hard road ahead.  
  
"You're in even deeper shit than you think," Natasha says from the doorway.  Matt is just behind her.  "Between Bucky masterminding a jailbreak, terrorist acts in Disney and the mess we left behind in Sokovia, people are calling for our heads on a platter."  
  
"It's worse than that," Matt adds.  "Tony is using JARVIS to track Ultron's movements through the Internet.  He's into _everything_ and pretty soon ---"  
  
"Pretty soon he'll have access to the nuclear launch codes," Steve finishes.    
  
"How do we stop an evil computer code?" Jones asks.  "Because somehow I don't think offering to play tic-tac-toe with Ultron is going to save our asses."  
  
"It's from a movie," Steve explains, catching Bucky's confused look.  
  
"Steve's seen it," Natasha says dryly.  
  
"I told you," Jones says to Bucky.  "Petey's falling down on the job."  She turns to Natasha.  "Can you believe he's never seen that shitty Superman movie from the Seventies?"  
  
"That movie's a classic," Matt says and then adds in a mumble, "My dad and I used to watch it together."  
  
Jones smirks.  "Maybe you can watch it with Barnes."  
  
Steve clears his throat.  It's late, they're tired and the fight has just begun.  They have the right to be a little punchy.  He remembers the Howlies getting like this during extended missions.  "Between Tony and Bruce, I'm sure they'll have a lot of ideas."  
  
"What do we do about Magneto?" Matt asks.  
  
"He's an ally," Steve says and leaves the 'for now' unspoken.  
  
"He slaughtered an entire --"  
  
"Almost two decades ago."  Steve rubs a hand over his eyes.  Super soldier he might be, but even he needs his rest.  "Fury and the rest of the world didn't come after him --"  
  
"I'm an attorney," Matt counters.  "I understand compromise, Steve.  But you're compromising with --"  
  
"With someone who knows how to take down Sentinels and who's giving us a safe place to stay while the world is in an uproar over our collective antics."  Steve shoots a pointed look at Bucky.  "The ATCU is SHIELD's replacement, Buck.  Breaking Tommy out is going to have serious repercussions for us.  It might even prompt passage of the Registration Act."  
  
"Magneto's playing you," Natasha says quietly.  
  
Steve shakes his head.  "His goal was to shut down von Strucker and save his children.  He could have left us high and dry once that happened.  Instead, he's still helping us.  Look, I don't agree with everything he's done, not by a long shot but --"  
  
"He killed twelve million people," Bucky says.  
  
"Two million mutants were systematically slaughtered in the kind of genocide you and I joined the Army to make sure never happened again."  Steve looks at him.  "What if I told you there's evidence that President Roosevelt knew Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked?  That he let it happen so that we could join the war?"  
  
Bucky's mouth drops open. "What?!"  
  
"Pearl Harbor was what got people angry, what got men to enlist or not grumble too badly about being drafted," Steve says.  "There's no conclusive proof, of course.  But how horrible would it be if Roosevelt knew and he let it happen?  A lot of men died.  But we won the war."  
  
They're all looking at him, no doubt wondering what his point is.  Even Jones.  
  
Steve gets to the point and says it plainly.  "It's too big.  We can't judge it."  
  
The silence that follows doesn't surprise him in the least and neither does Jones' smartass remark.  "Damn, they weren't kidding about those inspirational Captain America speeches."  
  
"No, they were not," Matt tells her.  "In his inspirational speech to get me to join the Avengers, Steve promised me I wouldn't have to travel the world and fight killer robots and yet here I am, going up against an intangible evil computer code and killer robots in a foreign country ruled by Magneto.  A fight for which I am ill-equipped, I might add."  
  
"Are you going to sue for breach of contract?" Steve asks, because he's something of a smartass himself.  
  
"It would serve you right."  
  
"You wouldn't get to fawn over Thor anymore if you do that," Natasha tells Matt.  
  
"I do _not_ fawn --"  
  
"You fawn, Murdock.  Own it and move on."  
  
"I like you," Jones tells Natasha.  "And I don't like people."  
  
"Neither do I," Natasha says.  
  
There's no doubt in Steve's mind that this is the beginning of a lasting friendship between Jones and Natasha.  Steve supposes he should feel sorry for Matt and Bucky but they made their choices, just like Clint did with whatever he's doing with Mystique that Steve doesn't want to know about.  "We should get some shut-eye."  He gives Natasha a pointed look.  "All of us."  
  
She gives him a sloppy salute.  
  
Jones flips him off.  
  
Yup, Bucky and Matt are doomed.  
  
If they survive what's to come.

 

 

*********************

 

See what a weekend of rest can do?  Two chapters for your reading pleasure, my Valentine to all my lovely readers.  And speaking Valentines, the fabulous Narglesonhertonue gave one to me -- a comic of Right Idea, Wrong Disability.  Read it here:  <http://archiveofourown.org/works/5947783/chapters/13673593>

 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
  
  
**Magneto and the Continental Breakfast**  
  
  
  
  
Kate's life is weird.    
  
Weird, she knows, goes with the territory of putting on a costume and going out in public with it to fight crime.  She knew that even before she met her idol, Hawkeye, and discovered that Hawkeye was a man named Clint Barton who's a complete mess when he isn't superhero-ing.  A helluva nice guy, but a complete mess.  
  
And then she met the rest of the After School Avengers.  
  
And after _that_ she met the rest of the Avengers.  
  
And _now_ she's having breakfast with Magneto.  Oh, and Mystique is there too, along with the woman Billy says is his mother and her brother who Kate hopes isn't Billy's father because that would just be icky beyond words.  
  
'Weird' is covering a lot of ground this morning.  For instance, Matt is wearing a mask made out of a shredded pillowcase to hide his identity so he can eat his breakfast without wearing his cowl.  Mystique and Clint are sitting side by side and talking quietly about combat knives, for Christ's sake.  And the weirdest part is that nobody else is talking.  
  
Everyone is glancing furtively at each other.  
  
There's a soft grunt from Bucky as he piles more fruit on Peter's plate and gives him a stern look.  
  
"I'm fine," Peter protests, breaking the silence and of course everyone turns to look at him.  He turns a spectacular shade of red.  
  
Bucky's eyes narrow.  "You skipped dinner and you've only got half the calories you need for breakfast on that plate."  
  
Peter groans.  "Here we go."  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate notices Matt sneakily adding food to Jessica's plate while she's watching the 'Bucky's Obsession with Peter's Appetite Show'.  
  
"Bruce," Bucky calls out.  "How many calories does Petey need?"  
  
"Between eight and ten thousand per day due to his enhanced metabolism," Bruce answers absently, not looking up from his cup of tea while Peter buries his face in his hand and moans.  "So does Jessica and I'd estimate Gwen does as well."  
  
Gwen turns to Clint, looks pointedly at her plate and then elbows him in the ribs.  
  
He tosses a grape onto her plate.  "You want more food? You're a big girl; you know what to do."  
  
Magneto clears his throat.  "There are more provisions in the kitchen.  Everyone should eat as much as they require."  
  
"Where _did_ all this food come from?" Kate asks him, partially because she's curious and also because it's fun being a pain in the ass.  
  
He turns in her direction but if he's annoyed at having to answer a mere human, he doesn't show it.  "I flew to the mainland earlier this morning, child."  
  
"The name is Hawkeye."  
  
"Isn't the gentleman to your left Hawkeye?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Captain America -- she still has trouble calling the man 'Steve' -- shoots her a look of warning before addressing Magneto.  "These young people are the After School Avengers, Erik.  You've met Wiccan.  That's Hulkling to his right, Peter, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye and..."  He pauses when he comes to Gwen.  
  
"The Idiot," Gwen says.  "What else would you call somebody who let herself get talked into putting on this stupid costume and who got sucked into this mess when she could have been home watching TV with Clint's bra-eating dog?"  
  
Clint chokes on a bite of melon.  Mystique pounds him on the back while Nat gives her a dirty look.  
  
Jess turns to Gwen with a hurt expression.  "I-I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have pushed you."  
  
"You're not the pushy one."  Gwen narrows her eyes at Kate.  "She is."  
  
"And damn proud of it, chica," Kate declares.  "You've got super powers.  You're supposed to use them, right Spider-Twins?"  
  
"With great power comes great responsibility," Peter and Jessica say in unison.  
  
"It's so creepy when you guys do that," Gwen says, rolling her eyes.  "Somebody put me out of my misery if I become a Stepford spider."  
  
"Uh, okay then," Captain America says.  He's completely deadpan when he follows that with, "The young man next to the Idiot is --"  
  
"Speed," Tommy interrupts him.  "And I'm not a baby Avenger."  
  
"Yes, you are," Bucky says firmly.  "Until I say you're not, got me?"  
  
Tommy flips him off.  
  
"Mind your manners, son," Captain America scolds Tommy who actually looks chastened at being scolded by the living symbol of Truth, Justice and apple pie.  He looks over at Billy's mother.  "I'd like to introduce our two newest Avengers, Wanda --"  
  
"Scarlet Witch," Wanda says with a smile.  
  
"Quicksilver," says her twin.  
  
Tommy snorts and mutters under his breath, "Lame."  
  
"Captain America just told you to mind your manners, Snide," Kate snaps at him.  
  
"That's _Speed_ , Hawkgir -- mmffffmmm!!"  A web-gag covers his mouth.  
  
"Guess you're not that fast or that smart," Jess smirks at Tommy.  
  
"Enough!" Bucky thunders, slamming his fist on the table and shooting a murderous Winter Soldier glare in their direction.  "Settle down!"  
  
"There's a training facility on Level 8," Magneto says.  "It's not quite Charles' Danger Room but I imagine the children might find it challenging enough to burn off some of that energy, don't you think, Sergeant Barnes?"  
  
Captain America lays a hand on Bucky's shoulder in a gesture that's half-comfort and half-warning not to start a fight with Magneto. "That's a good idea, Buck."    
  
"I can show Peter how to operate the controls so that you won't need to supervise," Magneto goes on.  
  
Kate cuts her eyes from Magneto to Cap to Bucky, leans back in her chair and raises her chin defiantly.  "Oh no you don't, Buckbeak.  You're not banishing us to the kiddie table while the grownups talk and plan strategy.  Those robots were trying to kill us, too.  We ---"  
  
"Have to earn your place at the table," Captain America says, focusing his earnest expression on her.  "You start by respecting each other and acting like a team, on and _off_ the battlefield.  Tommy, nobody's forcing you to join the team."  He shoots a look in Bucky's direction that elicits an unimpressed eye roll from the Winter Soldier.  "If you want out, now is the time to say so."  
  
"With great power comes great responsibility," the Spider Twins chorus but this time, all the ASAs join in, including Gwen.  They're all looking at Tommy who squirms in his seat.  
  
"I don't have a fancy costume," Tommy protests.  
  
Billy gets to his feet, turns towards Tommy and grins.  "Accio costume."  
  
Tommy looks down at the green and silver costume he's now wearing that looks like a sleeker version of Pietro's.  "Thanks, Hermione."  
  
The smile slides off of Billy's face.  
  
Teddy's jaw clenches and he directs a glare at Tommy.  
  
Captain America clears his throat and hastily changes the subject.  "Last but not least, to Bucky's right is Jessica Jones."  
  
"No code name," Jones says dryly.  "I'm a private investigator, not a superhero."  
  
Bucky snorts. "Keep tellin' yourself that."  
  
She flips him off.  
  
"Reminds you of the early days with Charles, doesn't it, Erik?" Mystique asks.  
  
"There was less foul language," Magneto agrees.  "Charles wouldn't have stood for it."  
  
"Neither would you, unless it was in German."  
  
"Best language for swearing, really."  He rises to his feet and looks down the length of the table at each person, his expression growing serious before turning to Captain America.  "Steven, my version of the Danger Room may be the best place to begin our discussion about Sentinels and how to adapt our strategy to deal with Ultron."  
  
It rubs Kate the wrong way how familiar Magneto is with Captain America, considering they were all fighting to take him down not that long ago.  She'd like to think Clint agrees but then again, he's being friendly with Mystique.  Way too friendly for Kate's liking.  
  
"All right," Captain America relents.    
  
Magneto flashes the barest hint of a smile.  "Excellent.  Give me thirty minutes to adjust the programming.  Peter, would you like to assist?"  
  
Bucky is on his feet, the metal plates in his arm readjusting themselves and sounding almost angry as they whir, click and snap into place.  Even his stride is angry as he rounds the table to where Peter is sitting and clamps his right hand firmly onto Peter's shoulder.  "You don't go near him without me, _Erik_."  
  
There's a muttered epithet from Jones that sounds a lot like 'asshole' and then she's on her feet, standing next to Bucky.  "And you don't go near Barnes without me in the room."  
  
"Before this becomes an even bigger effort to protect Sergeant Barnes who's protecting Peter and so on," Magneto says, "I would like to say that the control room can only hold six people at the most.  Now, who else would like to join the party?"  
  
"Me," Tony Stark announces, emerging from the stairs.  "I'd love to see that tech in action."  He strolls over to the table, grabs an apple and takes a bite.  "What'd I miss?"  
  
  
  
0000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**The Even-More-Dangerous Danger Room**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Did you find what you were looking for in my network, Mr. Stark?" Magneto asks, using his powers to open a heavy steel door and stepping aside to let everyone in.  
  
Bucky's arm shoots out before Tony can step over the threshold, blocking his path.  "You first."  
  
"Perhaps this will make you more comfortable, Sergeant."  Magneto doesn't even twitch a muscle as the door to the control room lifts off its hinges to settle at the far end of the hall, where it folds in half.  With that, he nudges Tony aside and steps into the room first.  
  
Peter ducks under Bucky's arm, steps in after Tony and his mouth drops open when he sees the control room.  It looks almost _exactly_ like the one back at the X-Mansion.  
  
As if he can read Peter's mind, Magneto looks at him with a fond smile but offers no explanation.  
  
Tony eyes the console like it's a buffet and he hasn't eaten for a week.  "Xavier refused to let me poke around in his tech and he's got some kid who's ---"  
  
"A cybernetic organism who partners with another young man who's skilled in all languages, including computer code.  I'm well aware."  Magneto beckons Tony closer.  "Your artificial intelligence program couldn't get past the two of them to find out how the Danger Room makes holograms that have mass and density.  I'm using the same safeguards as Charles and I'll give you the access you seek provided you do two things for me."  
  
"I'm all ears," Tony says dryly.  
  
"The technology must be used to train the children."  Magneto unflinchingly meets Bucky's gaze as he says it.  "You do them a disservice if you don't push them as hard as you can, teaching them to deal with threats even you perhaps cannot imagine."  He turns back to Tony.  "I've no doubt you'll take what I've designed an improve on it further.  Share your improvements with Charles."  
  
"I can do that," Tony agrees.  "Barnes?"  
  
Peter can feel the unspoken 'I don't trust you' hanging in the air but he's unsure how he should defuse the situation or if he even should.  He doesn't trust Magneto either.  
  
"Barnes has a pretty good imagination when it comes to threats," Jones cuts in.  "But he's also smart enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth.  Even if that gift horse is one of the most dangerous assholes on the planet."  
  
There's a moment where Magneto's eyes go wide and then he barks out a laugh.  "You've a way with words, don't you, Miss Jones?"  
  
"Just Jones."  
  
"Apologies."  He turns to the console and taps at a series of keys.  "Help yourself, Mr. Stark while I show you all of you how to operate the system."  
  
The lesson goes quickly and Peter can tell that despite his dislike of Magneto, Bucky is fascinated by the technology.  After a few tries, Bucky builds a holographic doppelganger and sends it storming across Magneto's Danger Room, bullets and knives flying furiously in what Peter is sure is a not-so-subtle message about how dangerous he is.  
  
"Subtle, Barnes," Jones snorts because she's no idiot either before turning to Magneto.  "What about other kinds of threats?"  
  
"Such as?"  
  
Her expression hardens.  "Other stuff."  
  
It takes Magneto a moment.  "Telepathic attacks?"  
  
"I guess so, yeah."  
  
"That was you," he says slowly.  "In the news.  You faced off against a rather dangerous empath."  
  
"I'm not discussing that with you," Jones snaps.  She glares at each of them.  "Any of you."  
  
"Your mental defenses are already quite formidable if you were able to fend him off," Magneto tells her.  "Yoga and meditation, as well as other forms of mental discipline help but the best way to build up your mental shields is to practice defending yourself against telepathic and empathic attacks.  I'm sure Charles would be willing to teach you."  
  
"I'll pencil that into my to do list."  
  
"You should," Magneto tells her, "given the company you're keeping."  
  
Jones directs a withering look in Bucky's direction.  "This is the last time you drag me into this crap, Barnes."  
  
"You love this crap, Jones," Bucky shoots back.  
  
"I _hate_ this crap."  
  
"Yeah?  Don't think I didn't notice how fast you dropped everything for this crap."  
  
"Because you came whining to me about how brain-damaged and helpless you are, you fucking asshole!" Jones explodes.  
  
"I'm thinking we could have the wedding here," Tony says to Magneto.  "What do you think?"  
  
"Fall is particularly nice in Genosha," Magneto concurs.  
  
Peter buries his face in his hand and sighs.  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
**The Lesson**  
  
  
  
  
Erik's training facility is twice the size of the building it sits under.  The room is completely empty but Steve knows from Peter's description of the Danger Room that a few keystrokes can produce a tangible cityscape or jungle, complete with civilians to rescue from powerful enemy forces.  
  
"In order to put the threat posed by Ultron into context," Erik begins, "we need to start at the beginning of the Sentinel program.  Sentinels were the creation of Bolivar Trask who dedicated a vast portion of his company's resources towards the study of mutants following the events off the coast of Cuba in 1962.  He spent a decade using black ops personnel to capture and kill mutants in order to study them and using funds provided by the world's governments to pay for it.  By 1973, Trask had half a dozen prototypes, each made of a high-tech polymer so as to be resistant to my abilities."  
  
Six Sentinels appear.  They look almost laughably primitive compared to the versions that Steve encountered.  
  
"If you're at all familiar with my history, I was able to reprogram them and turn them against their master," Erik goes on.  "The results of the events that day were the beginning of the end of Trask Industries and of the man himself.  However, SHIELD acquired the intellectual property relating to mutants and Sentinels and continued the work.  Whether it was HYDRA moles or other unscrupulous individuals, the technology leaked onto the black market and has been used against Charles, myself and our allies during the intervening decades, in increasingly deadly forms."  
  
Versions of Sentinels appear, one after the other, until Ultron takes his place at the end of the line.  
  
"Where the first versions shot napalm and plastic bullets, later models were equipped with lasers and sophisticated technology not unlike the type that powers this ersatz Danger Room to mimic a mutant's abilities and use them to overcome other mutants."  Erik looks pointedly at Mystique.  "The idea for the technology came from Trask's research into Raven and has been perfected over the decades each time SHIELD had Raven in custody and helped themselves to whatever biological samples they wanted."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Steve notices Clint bump Mystique's shoulder with his own and Mystique, to Steve's amazement, leans into Clint.  
  
"Von Strucker had access to the samples," Mystique says, stepping up beside Erik.  "His latest version of the Sentinel -- the one that called itself Ultron -- was covered with a layer of skin replicated from mine.  He was attempting to add shape-shifting to the Sentinel's abilities."  She takes a deep breath.  "Ultron's code came directly from the alien scepter.  They loaded it into the Sentinel, not knowing what was going to happen and within a few seconds, it was obvious they couldn't control it so they used a kill-switch to shut it down.  I have no idea how you reactivated it, Stark."  
  
"I do," Tony says.  "Someone sent a signal. Probably von Strucker."  He strolls up next to Erik and swipes the air with his hand.  The Sentinels vanish.  "Let me show you guys something cool.  This is JARVIS."

An orange, glowing swirl appears.  
  
Tony casts an affectionate glance at the hologram before continuing.  "And _this_ is the code von Strucker downloaded from Loki's scepter."  
  
A swirl of glowing blue that's double the size of JARVIS appears.  
  
"If any of you think it looks like neurons firing, that's because it does," Bruce puts in. "JARVIS is sophisticated but he's decades from this level of reasoning and association.  Putting something this sophisticated into a Sentinel's interface shouldn't have worked."  
  
"And it didn't.  Ultron redesigned the interface until it could integrate first with the Sentinel, then with von Strucker's network and then right into the Internet itself," Tony finishes.  
  
Steve thinks he gets it, but he wants to make sure.  "So we have something as smart as us running around the Internet."  
  
"No," Tony corrects him.  "We have something smarter."  He points at Clint and then at Pietro.  "Ultron didn't just take over technology.  Think about how Loki used the scepter for mind control and how HYDRA used it the same way."  
  
"Using the code for mind control requires physical contact," Wanda interjects.  Her expression is pained.  "I watched von Strucker use it on Pietro and the other test subjects.  The only ones who could not be affected were the two telepaths and myself, though von Strucker's experiments using what he called his Winter Soldier Protocols combined with the scepter ultimately wore down their defenses.  But not mine.  Not completely."  
  
Bucky pales as he looks at Wanda.  "How...?"  
  
"I went away.  In my head."  She turns and looks over at Billy and Tommy.  "I imagined my life as it was supposed to be.  Happy.  With beautiful children.  I held my newborn twins in my arms and watched them grow up."  
  
"There's an electro-magnetic component to your abilities," Matt says quietly.  "Yours and Billy's."  
  
Erik raises an eyebrow and looks over at Tony.  "Perhaps von Strucker's experiments served to enhance Wanda's abilities even as her abilities provided a defense against Ultron."  
  
"What I'm thinking," Tony agrees.  "Banner?"  
  
"We saw Loki use the scepter as a weapon," Bruce muses.  "It shot energy bolts, which means that along with everything else we know about it, it's conductive --"  
  
"I'm a dream?"  Tommy looks horrified.  "I'm just some _thing_ you made up when they were zapping you with electricity and Ultron?"  
  
"You are the future I thought I would not live to have," Wanda says, reaching for him.   She cups his face in her hand.  "And you are beautiful."  
  
Tommy swats her hand away furiously.  "I'm a _freak_!  My father is a _computer code_!"  
  
"An alien computer code," Clint chimes in.  "That scepter's from outer space."  
  
"Oh my God," Tommy moans as Bucky reaches out, snags Tommy's arm and pulls him into a hug.  
  
"Banner, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Tony asks, eyeing Tommy.  
  
Bruce nods.  "If the little twins' father really _is_ a computer code --"  
  
"That could be how we win."    
  
"The laboratory is on Level Seven," Erik tells them.  "Though I suspect you already knew that Mr. Stark.  You have full run and if you require anything else, you have but to ask and I'll obtain it for you."  His eyes cut to Tommy, who's clinging to Bucky for dear life.  "Sergeant, may I impose on you to look after my grandson?"  
  
"It's no imposition at all," Bucky practically spits at the man.  "C'mon, ASAs.  Let's patrol the perimeter and do some drills while the eggheads do their thing.  Any Avengers wanna join us, they can."  
  
Peter clears his throat.  "Can I do the egghead thing instead?"  
  
"We could use the assistance," Bruce adds.  "And we'll need Billy or Tommy."  
  
Bucky's eyes narrow.  "They're kids, not lab rats and I'm trusting you both to remember that.  Petey's going to keep an eye on you and if you do anything out of line, he's gonna come tell me--"  
  
"I volunteer," Billy interrupts before Bucky can voice his threat.  
  
Steve doesn't know Billy nearly as well as he should but he resolves to remedy that when this crisis is over.  As he glances over at Erik, he sees the man gazing fondly at the boy.   In a show of respect, he snaps off a crisp salute at Billy who he knows is still star-struck by him.  "Good man.  Thank you."  
  
"Y-you're welcome."  
  
Steve looks over the team and gives the order.  "Avengers and After School Avengers, assemble!"  It doesn't surprise him in the least when Erik and Mystique assemble with the rest of the team.  

 

 

****************

 

Goodness, what a looooooong, aggravating week of work.  It's wrecking my update schedule something fierce.  Thank you all for waiting so patiently and a special shout-out to the kind souls who messaged me on Tumblr to make sure I'm OK.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
  
  
  
**In the Lab with Tony and Bruce**  
  
  
  
  
Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark talk science the entire way up the stairs to the lab, with Peter listening and hanging on every word.  Under any other circumstances, Billy would be trying to follow along because while he may not have Peter's genius-level IQ, he's not an idiot.  But today, there are circumstances.  Serious circumstances.  
  
And Billy?  He's freaking out.  
  
The Egghead Brigade, as Bucky calls them, are too absorbed in their discussion of alien AIs to notice.  At least until the sparks start flying.  
  
Literally.  
  
Blue-white lightning shoots from Billy's fingertips, bounces off the walls and shatters a couple of beakers on the fancy work table on the far end of the room.   The smell of ozone is heavy in the air and there are smoldering scorch marks on the walls and the work table.  
  
And everybody is staring at him.  Like he's a freak.  
  
Which he is.  
  
Literally.  
  
"Um...uh...Sorry?" Billy ventures.     
  
Mr. Stark waves him off and gently grasps Billy's wrist, raising his hand for inspection.  "You know Thor needs his hammer to do that, right?  And I've never seen him shoot lighting from Mjolnir indoors, come to think of it."  
  
"Um."  That's all Billy can manage because he's trying to concentrate on not frying Iron Man.  
  
Amazingly, it's Peter who comes to his rescue.  He elbows Mr. Stark aside, puts Billy's hand on his chest and looks into Billy's eyes.  "We're going to breathe, just like Matt taught us, okay?  Focus on my breathing and my heartbeat."  
  
It seems to take forever for Billy's heart to stop jack-hammering in his chest but when it does, Dr. Banner is at his elbow, handing him a glass of water.  
  
"I know you've just been given some very disturbing information," Dr. Banner begins, "but we need you to stay as calm as you can and try to control..."  He trails off and looks pointedly at Billy's hands.  
  
"Disturbing information?!" Billy echoes incredulously.  "I just found out my mother was mind-raped by an alien AI and gave psychic birth to me and my twin.  That's not disturbing!  That's freaking insane!"  His fingertips spark violently along with his outburst.  
  
"Calm down," Peter says.  
  
"How calm were you when you found out HYDRA made a million clones out of you?" Billy shoots back angrily.  
  
The hurt look on Peter's face is what snaps Billy out of his self pity fest.  
  
"Sorry," he says quietly.  
  
"No," Peter agrees.  "You're right.  I was _freaked_.  Ask Steve how many times I threw up.  I may have set a world's record.   Heck, I even fainted.  Some big time superhero, huh?"    
  
"You're really hard on yourself, Peter," Billy tells him.  "You _are_ a big time superhero.  Look at all the bad guys you took down, even before you met Steve and Bucky.  Teddy and I used to talk about you all the time and then when I found out you were our age, it made you that much cooler because you were out there doing the same stuff Captain America was."  
  
Peter eyes Billy for a very long moment and then pulls him into a hug, exactly the way Bucky does it.  And it's just as comforting.  Maybe it's a super soldier thing.  Billy sighs and feels himself relax.  Finally.   "Are you feeling less freaked out now?"  
  
Billy nods and Peter releases him.  "Yeah, thanks."  He sucks in a deep breath.  "Peter?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you think that's why Wanda won't speak to me?  Because I remind her of... you know."  
  
"Are you kidding?  Wanda couldn't stop looking at you all during breakfast," Peter says.  "I think she's shy, like you are and that the only reason she spoke to Tommy was because he decided to have his freakout in public."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Billy notices that Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark are pretending not to eavesdrop.  "I'm okay now," he tells them.  
  
"Good," Mr. Stark says, "because we have a lot of work to do to figure out how an alien AI can merge with a person and the result is magically linked twin offspring."  
  
Peter clears his throat.  "Um, I-I have a theory."  
  
"Okay, boy genius, let's hear it."  
  
Blushing furiously, Peter ducks his head until he recovers.  "I was thinking about the mind control.  I-I mean... What if the mind control is some form of a computer virus?  Like... an organic invasive code."  
  
"Interesting," Dr. Banner says.  "A sentient computer virus that takes over _our_ operating systems."  
  
"Loki held the scepter, ergo he controlled whoever he infected with the virus," Mr. Stark adds.  
  
"Maybe he wouldn't have after a while," Peter suggests.  
  
Banner and Stark look at him.  
  
"I have a scientific precedent for my theory.  Remember that student at Xavier's that Magneto mentioned?"  Peter is standing his scientific ground against two of his heroes.  Billy can't help but be impressed.  "His name is Warlock and he's an alien cybernetic organism.  His people feed by infecting organic beings with a techno-organic virus to absorb their, uh, life glow."  
  
"And this is one of Xavier's students?!"  Stark is staring hard at Peter.  "How have I been to that school and never met the kid?"  
  
"He was dying to introduce himself to you but he's shy," Peter shrugs.  "He kept disguising himself as a sculpture any time you came near him."  
  
"Speaking of shy..."  Stark gestures as Thor comes in, carrying the scepter.    
  
"I was shy as a child," Thor offers, sounding a bit uncertain as he joins the conversation.  "Though as a prince of Asgard, I was not permitted the luxury of shyness."  
  
"It was a joke, Goldilocks."    
  
Thor flashes a polite smile in Stark's direction before turning his attention to Billy.   "How do you fare, young warrior?"  
  
"I'm kind of freaked out," Billy admits.  He points at the scepter in Thor's hand.  "Can I hold that?  Him?  It?"  
  
There's a long pause while Thor considers the question.  "You must exercise caution.  This scepter is a dangerous weapon."  
  
"It's my father."  
  
"That, too."  Thor carefully hands the scepter to Billy.  
  
The scepter itself _is_ a weapon.  It resembles nothing so much as an insect leg, with twin curved blades and a glowing blue orb nestled firmly between them.  Even without the orb, the scepter would be a weapon.   But it's not his father.  The orb is.  And if he focuses on it, he can hear it talking to him, telling him that the orb is a prison and that his father needs to be set free.  
  
So that's what Billy does.  
  
Even if he's not sure how.  
  
All he knows is that when the smoke clears, the scepter is on one side of the room and on the floor, at Billy's feet, is a glowing yellow gem.  He's slumped back against Thor and the giant blond god has his arms around Billy, holding him up.   Billy blushes.  Hard.  He has a thing for muscular blonds and it's been a struggle to hide his twin crushes on Thor and Captain America.  Especially when Teddy teases him about it.  "What _is_ that?"  
  
"That," Thor says, catching Billy's hand before he can touch it, "is the Mind Stone.  It is one of the six Infinity Stones and not meant to be handled by mortals."  
  
"So we're what?  Just going to leave it on the floor?" Stark asks.  
  
Billy stares at the shining gem, transfixed.  _This_ is his father and it's _not_ an alien computer chip or anything even close.  It's alive somehow.  Or close to it.  He focuses on the Mind Stone, using his power to lift it and set it down carefully on the work table.  There's a sensation, almost like a caress of his mind when his powers touch the stone and a sense of loss when he releases it.  
  
Everyone is staring at him.  
  
"Did you feel that?"  
  
Thor nods.  "Indeed.  I believe we all did.  You are surely connected to the stone, young warrior.  You and your twin."  He rests his very large hands on Banner and Stark's shoulders.  "I have not the time to explain about the Infinity Stones, only that you must proceed with extreme caution.  These stones have been used for ill purpose for eons and the Mind Stone, as its name implies, amplifies the power of the mind.  There are legends of it causing madness and worse.  The boy must not commune with it unsupervised or at all, if it can be helped."  
  
Billy gapes at Thor.  "But --"  
  
"I must speak with the Captain."  With that, Thor turns on his heel and leaves.  
  
"I get the feeling our problems just got bigger than protecting little old Earth from an evil computer virus," Stark says.  
  
"At least it's not my fault for a change," Peter says brightly.  
  
They all turn to look at him.  
  
"There's no way you can blame _this_ on the Ol' Parker Luck."  
  
Billy isn't so sure about that.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000    
  
  
  
**The Asshole of Magnetism**  
  
  
  
  
  
I watch as Barnes and Stevie have one of their silent conversations over Tommy's head while the boy clings to Barnes like a limpet.  Stevie quietly ushers out Avengers, ASAs and whatever the hell Mystique is.  Magneto and I stay behind.  
  
"They're gone," Barnes tells the boy.  "You can let it out now."  
  
Tommy takes a long, shuddering breath and bursts into noisy sobs.  
  
I cut my eyes over to Magneto who, for the first time since I've met him, looks absolutely clueless about what he's supposed to do.  For reasons that escape me, I actually feel sorry for the asshole, so I grab his arm and steer him out of the room.  "Come on.  Give the kid his privacy."  
  
"But --"  
  
"Barnes has him."  
  
"Sergeant Barnes is a good man."  Magneto raises his hand and a panel slides open in front of us, revealing a small break room with a coffee maker and a cafe table.  Without even asking, the Asshole of Magnetism starts to brew us a fresh pot, leading me to think maybe he's not completely evil.  
  
"The kids like him."  
  
"As do you."    
  
"We're just friends."  
  
The earns me one elegantly arched silver eyebrow as Magneto repeats, "He's a good man.  They're rather hard to come by, Ms. Jones."  
  
"Maybe it's me who's not a good person."  I rummage in a cupboard, more for something to do than because I feel like being helpful trying to find a pair of cups.  
  
"I find that very hard to believe," he says.  With a gesture, a cupboard door opens and a pair of gleaming metal mugs float gently over my head and onto the table.  "You liberated my grandson from a government facility at great risk to yourself."  
  
"I ---"  
  
"You saved dozens of people on the docks from --"  
  
"Shut up!"  I slam my fist on the table, denting it.  "You don't get to talk about that!"  I look down at the table and sigh.  "Sorry.  You can send me a bill or something."  
  
"It's made of metal, Ms. Jones.  Easily repaired."  
  
I watch as the dent pops out.  
  
"He controlled you, didn't he, this... Kilgrave?"  
  
"I said --"  
  
"And you were quite emphatic."  Magneto draws himself up, looking regal once more.  "Nonetheless, I'm a fair bit older than you and if nothing else, you'll respect that and listen to me.  I've been under the control of others a time or two in my long life."  He narrows his eyes at me and then rolls up his left sleeve, exposing a concentration camp tattoo.  "The man who controlled me in Auschwitz taught me to control my power through pain and fear.  His first lesson involved me watching him shoot my mother and in turn, I lost control and killed three SS guards.  I was Peter's age."  He pulls his sleeve back down.  "They were the first of many I killed at his direction.  How many did this Kilgrave force you to kill?"  
  
"Just the one," I whisper, partially because I can't believe I'm admitting this out loud and partially because I can't believe I'm admitting to fucking Magneto what I've only admitted to one other person -- and that person called me a piece of shit.  "And I'm still not sure if it was him or me that did it."  
  
"I hardly know you, Miss Jones, but I know for a fact that it was not you," Magneto declares imperiously.  "Shall I tell you how I know?"  
  
I nod and decide not to correct him calling me 'Miss' again.  
  
"I've seen the things you do and though you are crude and ill-tempered, you're selfless and act from a place of compassion.  A person like that is not a murderer."  He gestures and the coffee pot floats through the air, filling our cups and then going back to the warmer.    
  
"Why are you such an asshole?"  
  
His eyebrows shoot up.  " _Vas_?"  
  
"You could be this great person.  A hero.  Instead, you're an asshole who shouts about mutant supremacy and threatens to turn the rest of us into cattle or whatever," I say.  
  
"I threaten, Miss Jones."  His lips curve into a smile as mysterious as the Mona Lisa's.  "Surely you've noticed that I have the power to do it.  Or at least make a fairly successful effort.  But I do not."  
  
"Except here."  
  
"This was the line in the sand, drawn by my very large stick.  Charles offers the carrot."  He leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers.  "History will no doubt judge me to be every much the asshole you say I am but that history will be written by mutants who grow up safe and free."  
  
"We've got a long fucking way to go," I sigh, taking a sip of the coffee.  It turns out that Magneto, whatever his faults are, makes a hell of a cup of coffee.  "My last two missing persons cases were mutant kids.  One got thrown out his house by his parents and then they regretted it so they hired me to find him.  The second ran away so her parents wouldn't find out she was a mutant."  
  
"What happened to them?"  
  
"The boy was hustling over on the West Side to support his brand new heroin addiction and the girl's body was found in a dumpster in Jersey City."  I rub my hand over the spot where the dent was.  "You know what she could do?  She made these sculptures out of light.   I can't even describe them, they were so beautiful.  She should have grown up to be a famous artist and instead, she's dead because a bunch of kids at her school started a campaign to have her kicked out."  
  
Magneto's head tilts slightly.  "If you were not a good person, this would not bother you.  Especially since you are not a mutant."  
  
"I'm not a dick just because I'm not a mutant," I retort.  "Most people aren't.  Just like people who aren't gay aren't dicks.  Or who aren't black.  Or disabled.  And for your information, it bothers me because she was a fucking _kid_.  Just like it bothers me that those ATCU ass-clowns locked up Tommy."  
  
"I've not heard of this... ATCU before --"  
  
"Barnes and I are going to take care of that."  It pops out of my mouth before I realize what I'm saying.  "I mean, Barnes and Stevie are going to take care of that.  And probably the rest of the Avengers.  It's handled."  
  
Magneto flashes a knowing look.  "I believe you were right the first time, Miss Jones --"  
  
" _Ms._ "  
  
"As you prefer.  But make no mistake, I may get there before you do."  
  
"And there you go being an asshole," I tell him.  "How about asking Stevie if you can help his star-spangled ass out?  Who knows, he'd probably make you an Avenger."  
  
"Perhaps we should join together, Ms. Jones."  
  
I stare at him.  "Did you just make a _joke_?"  
  
"Just because I am an asshole does not mean I have no sense of humor."  
  
Jesus Christ.  I'm actually starting to like the Asshole of Magnetism.  
  
  
  
  
  
000000000000  
  
  
  
**In Which Steve is in Over His Head**  
  
  
  
  
Steve gets creative, pairing ASAs with Avengers and he even though he splits up Clint and Mystique, he has a feeling they'll ignore his orders anyway.  Natasha will keep an eye on them and Matt will tag along.   The proof comes a moment later when he finds Wanda walking alone and making a lot of noise as she goes.  
  
"What happened to Hawkeye?" he asks.  
  
She shrugs and looks sheepish.  "I am not so good at following orders.  Maybe I got lost."  Flashing a shy smile, Wanda adds, "Maybe I was waiting for you."  
  
"Um," Steve says because he's good with talking to women that way.  
  
"You are a good listener, Captain --"  
  
"Steve, remember?  You've been inside my head, you get to call me Steve."  There.  He didn't stutter once or stumble over a single word.  "What's on your mind?"  
  
"My children hate me."  
  
"Oh."  It occurs to him after he blurts out that remark that Wanda's looking for support.  "They don't hate you."  
  
"Tommy was quite upset with me and Billy won't even speak to me."  Wanda stops and sits down on a fallen tree.  
  
"You haven't spoken to Erik," Steve points out.  
  
She sighs heavily.  "I don't know what to say to him."  
  
"And maybe Billy doesn't know what to say to you.  He's actually kind of shy."  
  
"Tommy is not shy."  
  
"No," Steve agrees, thinking of the boy's temper and crude language.  "Tommy is not."  
  
"He's so angry."  
  
"He's a teenager."  
  
Wanda looks up at Steve.  "I think he is angry because he is angry, not because he is a teenager.  How would you react if you found out your father was a computer code?"  
  
"My father died before I was born," Steve tells her.  "He might as well have been a computer code."  He peels back his cowl and rubs the back of his neck.  "I hope you don't think I'm out of line for saying this, Wanda, but I don't think it's the fact his father's a computer code so much as the fact that the coupling was... for lack of a better word... uh..."  
  
"Rape."  
  
Steve winces.    
  
Wanda reaches out and takes his hand.  "If it makes you feel better, Steve, I wouldn't have called it rape until this morning.  I had no idea I was being attacked by something that was self-aware."  She frowns.  "Although..."  
  
"Although?" Steve prompts.  
  
"When I went away to my fantasies, they seemed real.  I wonder if that was Ultron, manipulating me."  She lets go of Steve's hand, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.  "And yet...  I felt loved.  How could something like Ultron be capable of those kinds of feelings?"  
  
Steve thinks of JARVIS.  "I'm starting to learn that a lot of things are possible."  
  
Thor lands heavily next to Steve and the look of worry on his face alarms Steve.  "My friend, we must speak."  His eyes tick to Wanda.  
  
"She's an Avenger.  You can talk in front of her."  
  
"Very well."  With a wary look in Wanda's direction, Thor tells them about the stone inside the scepter and about the destructive power of the six Infinity Stones.  "The Mind Stone is the fourth stone to surface in these past few years."  
  
"You don't think it's a coincidence?" Steve asks even as he knows it can't possibly be a coincidence.  
  
"I think someone is playing an intricate game."  Thor sighs deeply.  "When our business with the Ultron concludes, I must return to Asgard."  
  
"And I must see my son."  Wanda gets to her feet.  "How was Billy when you left him, Thor?"  
  
"Coping with the mystery of his existence."  He cocks his head and peers down at her.  "And how do you fare, knowing you were violated by the Mind Stone and birthed its children?"  
  
"My children are beautiful and healthy," Wanda says.  "For that, I'm happy.  It doesn't mean that I will not do everything in my power to send that stone straight to the hell from which it came."  
  
"You are a true warrior, my lady."  Thor takes her hand and presses a kiss to it.  "I am honored to fight at your side."  
  
As he watches Thor and Wanda start to discuss Asgardian magic, Steve feels bereft.  It's silly, he tells himself.  He's with Karen.  He might even be in love with her.  Except... There's something about Wanda...  Something... special.  
  
No.  He's going to keep it strictly professional.    
  
She's a team member.  
  
A very pretty team member.  
  
Because his life isn't complicated enough.

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20  
  
  
  
  
  
**Matt Murdock and the Great Outdoors**  
  
  
  
  
  
His foot tangles in something, a root maybe, and Matt crashes faces first into the dry, sweet-smelling grass.  It's embarrassing enough that he tripped but the experience is made even worse by the fact it's been witnessed by Clint and Clint's new best friend, Mystique.  
  
"You okay there, lil Devil?" Clint asks, reaching for Matt's arm.  
  
Ever the stubborn one, Matt jerks his arm away and rolls back to his feet.  He should have said no to patrolling with Clint in whatever this grassy, wooded expanse is and insisted on patrolling the remains of the city, where his senses could actually do him some good.  Here, there's very little, if anything, for him to put together into any kind of meaningful image in his world on fire.  Trees are easy enough to identify but the grass waves and undulates with each breeze, obscuring what's underneath and leaving Matt tripping and stumbling with each step.     
  
Clint blows out a frustrated breath.  "Here we go."  
  
"I'm _fine_ ," Matt lies because Clint doesn't have enhanced senses and probably won't be able to tell.  
  
"You're full of it."  Clint stomps over to a tree and snaps off a limb, thrusting it under Matt's nose.  "Here."  
  
Matt knows what Clint means by the gesture and makes no move to take the makeshift cane.  "I said --"  
  
"You're stumbling around like a drunk on a bender," Clint scolds him.  "Either take the damn cane or take my arm but I'm not letting you keep going like this."  
  
"Is he... Are you _blind_?" Mystique asks.  
  
Matt turns his head in her direction and lies through his teeth.  "No."  
  
"Yes," Clint says.  
  
"That's amazing."  Mystique takes a step closer to Matt who stiffens at her approach.  "You don't like me, do you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Because of what you did to Peter," Clint tells her, "and which you're very, very sorry about."  
  
His cowl makes an eye roll pointless, even if Matt were sure he had the muscle control over his eyes to do it so he simply huffs out an exasperated, disbelieving breath.    
  
"I am," Mystique says.  "It was a rotten thing to do to him --"  
  
"Then why do it in the first place?" Matt demands.  
  
"Erik wanted me to retrieve him and he wasn't going to go willingly.  It was the only way to get Peter without hurting him badly in the process, especially since he's stronger and faster than I am."  She sighs.  "I want to apologize to him but he won't even acknowledge me."  
  
"Do you blame him for that?"  
  
"Daredevil is Peter's vigilante big brother," Clint puts in.    
  
"And adoptive father of Peter's clone."  Mystique lets that sink in for a beat.  "You're hiding it well but you're surprised, Daredevil.  Don't be.  Erik makes it his business to know what HYDRA's doing when it comes to their science experiments.  He wasn't thrilled to learn they'd gotten that far with cloning."  
  
She's not lying, not about being sorry and not about their interest in HYDRA's activities.  That doesn't mean he's ready to forgive and forget, despite what Father Lantom might say.  "The two of you have a funny way of showing your concern."  
  
"We do what we can," Mystique says.  "Our methods aren't yours and our priorities aren't yours, either.  I'm not going to apologize for that.  I'll apologize for what I did to Peter but I'm not going to apologize for trying to recruit a boy with that much potential."  
  
That's not quite the truth.  Matt runs through everything she just said to find the hidden inference and he kicks himself for not putting the pieces together sooner.  "You used him to draw the Avengers into the fight against the Hand and the Chaste."  
  
Mystique laughs softly.  "Like I said, we never meant him any harm."  
  
"Magneto went after Peter and Spider-woman with a loading crane."  
  
"If he wanted to, he could have torn that loading crane to pieces and killed them with the shrapnel," Mystique says.  "Erik never hit them, never even came close.  He treated it like a training exercise and he was as surprised as hell when they took him down the way they did.  But he did hold back, even when control of the situation got away from him."  
  
And, unfortunately, that's the truth too.  
  
"If you're serious about apologizing to Peter, I'll arrange a conversation," Matt says finally.  He steps forward, crowding the mutant shapeshifter.  "But know this, if you _ever_ do anything like that again, it won't be him you'll have to worry about --"  
  
"It'll be all of you," Mystique says.  "And Erik, too.  He's rather fond of Peter and he's not fond of many people."  
  
Neither is Matt which is why he's so annoyed that he finds himself with a growing, grudging respect for Magneto.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
**Slow Down, You Move Too Fast**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Reporting for duty," Bucky says, coming up alongside Captain America.  He's smirking, like it's a private joke between them and Tommy thinks it probably is, especially when Bucky reaches over and pats Tommy on the head.  "Both of us."  
  
Captain America's cowl is down and his gaze ticks over to Tommy.  There's concern in his eyes and in his voice when he speaks.  "You feeling better now, son?"  
  
Now that he's calm or at least not freaked out of his mind for the first time in six months, Tommy has something new to freak out over.  He's talking to _Captain_ _America_ , for Christ's sake.  Or trying to.  His mouth opens but nothing comes out.  It takes two tries before he manages to blurt out, "Yeah."  He quickly follows that with, "Sir."  
  
"You don't have to call me 'sir', Tommy," Captain America tells him with a smile before turning his attention back to Bucky.  He doesn't actually ask Bucky anything but that doesn't stop Bucky from answering him.  
  
"He's not sitting this one out."  
  
"Glad to hear it."  
  
And just as Tommy starts to relax a little bit, Wanda lands beside Steve and Bucky's hand clamps down on Tommy's shoulder.  Hard.  They talked about this.  He can do it.  He can.  At least, he'll try to keep his promise to Bucky about trying to talk to her.  "Hi."  
  
Some of the tension goes out of Wanda's face, especially around her eyes.  "It's strange for me too, seeing you and Billy made real."  
  
"I don't understand it," Tommy says and he has to stop because he almost whines.  He leans in closer to Bucky and tries again.  "I have a mother.  And a dad who's not a computer code, even if he is a complete dick."  
  
Wanda smiles.  "Is he worse than my father?"  
  
"No, your dad is the biggest dick on the planet," Tommy snorts.  "I've got no idea why Billy wants to make nice with him."    
  
"You're making nice with me and I'm his daughter."  
  
Tommy looks up at Bucky.  They talked about this and Bucky insisted that he give Wanda a chance to tell her side.  Bucky wouldn't go into detail, only that whatever HYDRA did to Wanda had been done to him and it was _bad_.    "I'm trying to understand."  
  
"So am I," Wanda admits, giving a little shrug.  "It was always Pietro and me and now there is our father and my sons.  I do not understand how or why you exist, only that you're here.  It is a lot for me to take in."  
  
And there it is, just like Bucky said.  He said Wanda was probably freaking out too.  "I can't call you 'mom'.  It's too weird."  Tommy doesn't add that Wanda _feels_ like she's his mother.  Like, he's _drawn_ to her.  He can't possibly explain _that_ and he's afraid that if he goes anywhere near Magneto, he'll feel something for that old bastard as well.  
  
"Just call me Wanda," she says. "But please, don't run from me again.  Let me know you."  
  
Tommy nods and finds himself being shoved forward by Bucky.  It takes him a second to figure out why.  
  
Until Wanda hugs him.  
  
It feels like coming home.  
  
So of course Tommy runs.  
  
As fast and as far as he can.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
**What Ultron Wants**  
  
  
  
  
Lab time with Bruce and Tony is something Peter usually loves and doesn't do a whole lot.  Not because he's not invited.  He has a standing invitation to join them whenever.  The thing is, once the two of them get started on a science bender even though Peter can keep up, Bruce and Tony seem to forget he's there.  Like what he thinks doesn't matter.  
  
Bucky and Steve _never_ make him feel that way.  
  
And they've never once dismissed him to go make coffee.  
  
"How does Tony take his coffee?" Billy asks.  
  
"However," Peter grumbles.    
  
Billy sets the coffee pot down and looks hard at Peter.  "What?"  
  
"What do you mean what?" Peter counters.  
  
"What I said.  What?"  
  
Blowing out a deep sigh, Peter leans against the spotless counter in the small kitchenette.  "I think they're asking the wrong question."  
  
"Okay," Billy says slowly.  "I'll bite. What's the right question?"  
  
"They're asking 'how'," Peter explains.  "How did Ultron tamper with Wanda to create you and Tommy?  They're not asking why.  I-I think the why might be important."  
  
"Well, since Ultron's not exactly a Playstation, I think you have a point," Billy agrees.  
  
Peter frowns.  "I'm serious."  
  
"I know you are.  I'm just trying to lighten the mood."  
  
"Sorry."  With a sigh, Peter runs a hand through his hair and tries to put the thoughts running through his head in order.  "Playstations have routines, things they do, things they can't do.  Then we have JARVIS.  We can agree he's the most sophisticated program we know, right?"  
  
"Right."  Billy turns on the coffee machine and drops into the lone chair in the break room.  
  
"Unlike a Playstation, JARVIS makes choices.  Sure, some of it was from his original programming but he's learned and adapted."  Peter's on a roll now and his words pick up steam as he goes.  "He'll choose which situations to respond to, how he responds and sometimes, when.  We can debate whether he has emotions or feelings but for now, leave that out of the equation, okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Nobody told JARVIS to get in there and safeguard the nuclear launch codes from Ultron.  He just went in there and did it."  That bit of information was news to Tony and welcome news at that.  "He made a choice.  But he did something else, too.  And it's something he does a lot."  
  
Billy leans forward.  "He went into another operating system and took over."  
  
Peter smiles and nods.  "Just like Ultron.  Except Ultron is capable of controlling organic systems.  The question is, why?"  
  
"Control?" Billy suggests.  
  
"Reproduction," Peter tells him.  "I've listened to Tony and Bruce debate whether JARVIS could be classified as a living being a dozen times, maybe more.  One of the criteria Bruce likes to cite is reproduction.  Tony argued that JARVIS reproduces through creating subroutines and leaving bits of invasive code in other operating systems.  Ultron can and does do that.  Maybe he was trying to do it with an organic host and finally succeeded."  
  
It's Billy's turn to frown.  "And that proves what?"  
  
"That he's not just a shiny gem," Peter says.  "That he's alive in there, at least in some way that maybe we don't understand.  The bit of him that's wandering around Earth's networks might have been enough to meet his definition of life and reproduction before you and Tommy but now Ultron wants more."  
  
"He does?"  
  
"He wants a body of his own.  Maybe a lot of bodies."  
  
Billy peers in the direction of the lab where Tony and Bruce are hunched over a bank of computer screens and having a hushed conversation.  "You think they've figured that out yet?"  
  
"No," Peter tells him even as he feels like the worst person in the world for saying this about his scientific heroes.  "I also think they haven't figured out what Ultron's next move is."  He sucks in a deep breath.  "He's going to come after the Mind Stone and Wanda.  And maybe you, because your abilities are just like hers.  The two of you are the key to putting him into a new, evolved form, so he can live for real."  
  
"Does anyone else know how smart you are?" Billy asks.  
  
Peter blushes deeply.  "I-I'm not --"  
  
"You are."  
  
"Billy, it's just a theory.  Bruce and Tony are doing the hard science --"  
  
"And we're going to do the heavy lifting."  
  
There's a flash of blue-white light and the next thing Peter knows, he and Billy standing in front of Steve, Bucky and Wanda looking up at an alarming number of Sentinels closing in on Genosha.  "Oh boy..."

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22  
  
  
  
**Death from Above**  
  
  
  
  
The word 'multitasking' is a newfangled one that always makes Steve want to roll his eyes whenever he hears it.  But multitasking is exactly what he's doing as he takes in the two dozen Sentinels and the swarm of at least three dozen drones coming in fast even as he runs through his teams and their capabilities while deciding how to leverage their abilities effectively.  
  
Petey and Billy's sudden appearance is a distraction.  
  
"Cap!  We need --" Billy starts.  
  
"Not now, son," Steve says over him as he slips his comm link into place.  He taps it and scowls.  "Damn it.  We're being jammed."  
  
Billy puts himself directly in front of Steve again.  "Cap!  It's important!"  
  
Steve tears his gaze from the approaching attack, ticks over to Bucky and then rests on Billy.  "Make it fast, Wiccan."  
  
Billy nudges Peter forward.  "Tell him."  
  
A look of panic flits across Peter's face.  "I-it's just an idea, Steve --"  
  
"A _brilliant_ idea," Billy adds.  
  
"Ultron's after the Mind Stone and Wanda," Peter says quickly.  "He wants to use them to evolve."  
  
That gets Steve's attention even as what first appears to be tracer fire erupts from Hammer Bay and drones start to disintegrate on contact.  Whatever Erik's weapons are shooting is definitely _not_ tracer fire.  And it's damned effective.  
  
"Holy..." Peter's eyes are wide.  "Those are _plasma_ bursts!"  
  
Because of course Erik would have fortified Genosha against possible attacks by Sentinels with cutting edge technology.  Steve reaches out to grip Peter's shoulders.  "This theory you have, Peter.  Did you run it past Tony and Bruce?"  
  
"Peter's just as smart as they are," Billy cuts in.  "Smarter, maybe, because he was asking 'why' and they were asking 'how'."  
  
It's a fair point and Steve has to concede it.  Peter _does_ have a genius-level IQ and the theory makes a hell of a lot of sense.  "We need a team in place to safeguard the Mind Stone but everyone is scattered --"  
  
"That is not a problem," Wanda says with a smile, taking Steve's hand in hers.  "Think very hard, Steve and they will hear you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Telepathy is one of my abilities, remember?"  The way she's looking at him means she knows he's thinking about how soft her hand is.  "It is easy to project your thoughts because we are the only ones on the island.  Now concentrate, Captain."  
  
Yup, she knows.  And if the look Bucky is slanting in his direction means anything, he does too.  Steve concentrates.  
  
He sends Jones, Matt, Gwen and Mystique to protect the Mind Stone.  
  
Pietro and Tommy are instructed to run point and provide ground support.  
  
Natasha, Clint and Kate are going to provide cover.  
  
The rest of the team is ordered to find him to coordinate their assaults.  
  
Steve releases Wanda's hand and notices that Billy's brow is furrowed in concentration.  "Wiccan?"  
  
"I just teleported the Mind Stone team back to base, sir," the boy tells him.  
  
"You don't have to call me 'sir', Billy."  He reaches out to ruffle Billy's hair.  "And thank you.  That was good thinking."  
  
Billy ducks his head and blushes.  
  
Overhead, the Sentinels are closing fast even as the plasma guns -- if Peter is right and that's what they are -- take out the drones.  
  
Erik glides into view, his cape billowing majestically.  If the sight of so many Sentinels concerns him, it doesn't show at all.  He lands next to Steve and gently sets a metal crate at Bucky's feet.  "These weapons may be more effective than what you're carrying, Sergeant."  
  
Bucky doesn't even have to bend down to open the crate.  The latches pop open to reveal a pair of gleaming black metal rifles that look far more sophisticated than anything Steve's ever seen before.  Bucky's eyes narrow.  "Are those HYDRA?"  
  
"No," Erik says.  "They're Shi'ar, as are the cannons that are keeping the Sentinels from breaching Genosha's defenses."  
  
Thor lands heavily beside Bucky and scowls at the contents of the crate.  "I was not aware the Shi'ar made contact with Midgard."  
  
"Another conversation you'll need to have with Charles, I suppose."  Erik reaches into the crate and holds a rifle out to Bucky.  "Please, Sergeant.  You'll need this advantage."  
  
There's only the slightest flaring of Bucky's nostrils to indicate his surprise at Erik's use of the word 'please' before he accepts the weapon.  
  
Erik hands Steve the other, then lifts the padding to reveal smaller pistol-like weapons and knives.  "Help yourselves."  
  
Bucky doesn't need to be asked twice.  One by one, the weapons disappear into his clothing before he straightens and hands Steve a pistol and a combat knife.  "Take these, you stubborn punk."  
  
A thigh holster suddenly materializes on Steve's right thigh.  
  
Wanda smiles at him.  
  
Bucky smirks.  
  
And then the Sentinels launch their assault.  
  
  
  
00000000000000  
  
  
  
**Stone Love**  
  
  
  
One second I'm stomping through the former city of Hammer Bay where I'm hearing Captain America's voice in my head and wondering what the fuck I was thinking throwing in with Barnes, the next I'm standing in a shiny lab with more people than I'd care to be around.   
  
"I'm going out there," Stark announces, as if anyone is going to argue with him about it.  
  
And of course nobody does.  
  
"Nobody touch the stone," Stark says.  "Thor's orders."  With that, pieces of his Iron Man armor go flying through the air, snapping into place one after the other until all that's left is his visor.  He peers at each of us in turn and sighs.  "Matt, you're in charge.  Banner, stand by.  We may need to call a Code Green out there if Parker is right and Ultron is coming for this thing."  
  
"If he's right?" I echo.  "Ultron _came_ from the fucking thing.  Of course he's coming for it."  That's when I realize what I just said.  Ultron is coming for the Mind Stone.  I'm _guarding_ the Mind Stone, thanks to Stevie and his stupid orders.  "Shit!"  
  
"Good luck, Jones," Stark tells me with a smile.  "And welcome to the Avengers."  
  
Flipping him off is pointless.  
  
I'm an Avenger.  Whether I want to be or not.  
  
And it's all Barnes' fault.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots**  
  
  
  
  
Barnes vaguely remembers Steve facing down tanks during the war.  He's seen the serials that probably gave Steve the idea in the first place. And he's also seen the footage of Steve going after the Chitauri warships  as if they were enemy tanks.  
  
Steve is fucking _reckless_.  
  
Always has been.  
  
It's a damned good thing he's got Barnes watching his six.  
  
The problem is, Petey is just as reckless as Steve.  To make matters worse, he's got those goddamned webs which means he doesn't stay on the ground where Barnes can cover him properly.  
  
So of course Steve is directing Petey and the _two_ of them are charging at a Sentinel like it's a Panzer and these are the good old days while Barnes lays down cover fire with his crazy alien rifle.  And just like back in the good old days, the Panzer-slash-Sentinel shoots back.  
  
One second Barnes is taking cover behind a tree and watching the Sentinel raise a glowing palm in his direction, the next...  
  
...he's doubled over, his stomach rebelling and his neck aching.  
  
"Sorry about that, dude," Tommy says.  "You almost got yourself fried there."  
  
It takes Barnes a couple of seconds to understand that he's just gone God only knows how fast and that the ache in his neck is whiplash.  There's a crack behind him and the tree that he was just using for cover goes crashing to the ground, still in flames.  He opens his mouth to thank Tommy --  
  
\-- and finds himself looking at empty air.  
  
Yeah, he thinks.  It's exactly like what he remembers about fighting alongside Steve way back when.  Completely fucking crazy.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*******************

 

Sorry for the long delay between chapters.  Work has been kicking my you-know-what.  More chapters to follow soon.

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 

 

 

**Whatever A Spider Can**

 

 

Peter remembers the day he watched the Avengers come together to fight the Chitauri. It happened a few months before his class took the trip to Oscorp that changed Peter's life forever. The entire class sat silently, watching the news being broadcast on the school network, seeing the shaky camera footage and listening to reporters breathlessly try to make sense of what was going on.

What was going on wasn't a terrorist attack.

It was an alien invasion. Giant space ships came floating through a rift in the sky above Stark Tower to destroy midtown Manhattan.

And just when Peter and everyone around him started to lose hope, a man dressed like Captain America stood up and led the team Peter would eventually know as the Avengers in the fight to repel the Chitauri.

Peter always wondered how he would have fared that day if he'd had his powers.

Sure, he's fought plenty of bad guys, both solo and alongside both the Avengers and the ASAs but up until today, he's never fought in a war. Because that's what this is. Ultron is leading an _army_  of Sentinels against them.

All Peter can do is his best and hope it's enough.

So far, his best is using everything he knows about Sentinel tech to sneak up onto the back of one while the rest of Ultron's army is trying to take out the Avengers. If he can open the panel and disconnect the power source, it'll be one less Sentinel to worry about.

There's just one problem.

The panel isn't there.

All that's there is a lightning USB port.

Peter stares at the port in disbelief and has a brief moment where he imagines connecting the Sentinel to an iPhone to update its playlist. And that gives him an idea.

Clint has an arrow that connects to those kinds of ports. He showed it to Peter and explained how he uses it to load a program that takes down security protocols. The arrow was something SHIELD designed, just like these Sentinels were designed by SHIELD. Good thing, then, that Tony made modifications to the arrow. His idea is looking better and better the more he thinks about it.

Peter flattens himself against the Sentinel, looking for Clint.

The skies above darken dangerously and lightning flares, summoned by a very, very angry Thor.

An explosive arrow zips past Peter, lodging itself in a Sentinel to his right, in an imperceptible gap in the Sentinel's shoulder joint. Then it explodes. Violently. 

Peter launches himself from his Sentinel's back, narrowly avoiding being hit by shrapnel, and heads in the general direction of where he thinks Clint is. Instead, he finds Kate who's about to nock another arrow. "Nice shooting."

"You thought I was Clint." Kate lets the arrow fly.

"Well... It _was_  a really, really tiny ---"

"And I'm really, really good, Spider-boy."

She's right, which means he should be asking his teammates for what he needs instead of running to the Avengers. "Do you have one of those USB arrows?"

"I have four. Two different sizes. Micro USB and lightning," Kate tells him. "You found a port on those things?"

Peter reaches around and points to the corresponding spot on the back of his neck. "Right there. And they're all connected via a network, so if we can load it into one, it could affect all of them."

"The hack isn't going to be good enough," she decides. "Ultron is up there with JARVIS in terms of intelligence, which means the most it'll be is a distraction and even that might be wishful thinking. You need to tell Stark and let him work the problem. I bet he can come up with a quick patch that'll do what we need."

"Great," Peter mutters, looking skyward where Tony is engaging in a firefight with a Sentinel.  "All I have to do is sprout wings."

"Or you can ask Billy to telepathically contact him." Kate gives him a look. "Do I have to think of everything?"

"Sorry. It's just... I'm trying to think how to use the Mind Stone to shut down all the Ultron code that's running rampant out there."

"And?"

"If we can put Ultron into a biological form, he can be killed, you know, with some work. I just don't know if we'd be putting all of him into it o-or just a clone of his code." He frowns under his mask. "It'd take a lot of convincing for him to transfer his entire code into a bio-form, but if he wants it badly enough..."

"If he wants it badly enough, we can not only kill him but maybe we can corrupt his operating system to take out anything left in the world's networks," Kate says. "Not a bad idea, webhead. Tell you what, you keep working on it and I'll find Billy and coordinate with Jess and Tony. Even though she insists she's not you, she's still got your smarts as well as her own." Kate claps him on the back and then disappears into the brush before Peter can say anything.

His spider-sense blares out a warning just in time for Peter to dodge a burst of electricity that scorches the ground where he was just standing. In the time it takes for him to twist around to face the Sentinel, web-shooters at the ready, Tommy is there.

Speed is standing, arms outstretched and his eyes are narrowed in concentration behind the protective goggles Billy conjured for him. At first, it doesn't seem like he's doing anything, that he's not moving.

And then the Sentinel explodes.

"The eggheads at juvie called that molecular destabilization," Tommy tells Peter. "Haven't had time to read up on it myself."

"Jeez..."

"And I can use it to walk through walls. Almost busted out this one time..." Tommy trails off with a scowl that he sends in Peter's direction. "Just because I saved your life, it doesn't mean I like you."

"You didn't save my life," Peter retorts. " _I_ saved my life. And just because you thought maybe you were saving my life doesn't mean I like you either."

Tommy rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

There's a gust of wind and he's gone, leaving Peter with the uncomfortable feeling that what he just experienced was a weird form of sibling rivalry. With _Billy's_ twin brother. Who's been attaching himself to Bucky. Which means Bucky is attached to Tommy.

Which means...

Peter is going to have a new family member living with him.

Probably.

Maybe _this_  is why people hate mutants.

 

  
0000000000000000000000000

 

 

**Meeting of the Minds**

 

 

"It's not working," Billy says. "I can't reach Tony."

Jess gives herself a mental head slap when she remembers the reason why. "Tony used Magneto's tech to telepath-proof his armor."

Kate rolls her eyes at the pair of them. "You two are acting like it's the end of the world. What did we do before telepathy when we needed to reach people?"

"We used the comm system," Jess says flatly. "It's down."

Kate points upwards, where Tony is firing repulsor blasts at the Sentinels, drawing their attention while Magneto and Thor blow them apart with electro-magnetic bursts. "How about going up there and talking to him? You fly, Billy."

"I've got webs and I speak tech," Jess decides, launching herself upwards. She scales a tree, balances on the outermost branch and waits for Tony to go flying by so that she can leap onto his back.

The sudden added weight makes Tony dip alarmingly before he recovers and sets them both down in a dense copse of trees. "Are you nuts?!"

"I-I needed to talk to you."

"You could have just flagged me down."

"Like you would have noticed."

"JARVIS notices everything." There's a pause before Tony adds, "He just filters out the stuff I don't need to know. Like teenagers and their crises. Speaking of, what's the crisis, Parker?"

"It's _Murdock_  and we found a lightning port on the back of the Sentinels' necks. The code in Kate's arrow isn't sophisticated enough to --"

"JARVIS, are we networked to those arrows?" Tony cuts her off.

Jess' enhanced hearing picks up JARVIS' response, even through Tony's armor and learns that Tony is indeed networked to both Kate and Clint's arrows and that an upgrade based on an algorithm that JARVIS has been working on will be ready in three minutes.

"Give me --"

"Three minutes."

"I will _never_ call you Parker again," Tony tells her. "You're definitely picking up all of Murdock's bad habits." His face plate flips open and his eyes are wide in disbelief as he stares at something behind Jess.

She turns around to see yet another group of Sentinels coming, followed by a large, red and gold... "What is that?!"

"Those are the Iron Legion and the big one is Veronica," Tony says, voice heavy with disbelief.

"Veronica?" Jess echoes.

"My Hulk-buster prototype."

"Veronica?"

"You know, like the opposite of Betty? Banner's girlfriend? Betty Ross? Not ringing a -- never mind." Tony's face plate snaps back into place. "I need you to find Banner and tell him to stay where he is. No Code Green under _any_  circumstances and tell him that sonofobitch Ultron hacked my damn Iron Legion to use against us. JARVIS! I need you to tell me what happened, buddy."

With that, Tony takes off.

Jess thinks fast and prioritizes to come up with a reasoned approach to the problem, just like Matt's been teaching her to do. She can fill in Kate and have Billy teleport them to Dr. Banner. After he telepathically warns everyone about the Iron Legion and the Hulk-buster.

All she has to do is not get fried by a Sentinel or an Iron Legionnaire.

Piece of cake.

Riiiiiiight.

 

  
00000000000000000000000

 

 

**Daddy Issues**

 

 

 

He has no idea what kind of robot _this_  is.

It's seven feet tall, making it less than half the size of the Sentinels attacking Genosha and it's red and gold, with a 'Stark' logo on the left shoulder. On any other day, it would be a friendly.

Today is different.

Except so far, this Stark-bot isn't attacking.

"Billy, we need to talk."

He doesn't say a word.

"Come on, don't you want to get to know your dad?" Okay, so it's a Stark-bot body with Ultron inside.

He folds his arms across his chest and raises an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm sorry about trying to kill you in Disney. I didn't realize who you were until I ran the data." Ultron holds out a gleaming hand in supplication. "Let me make it up to you."

"How?"

"That's a good question. I actually don't have an answer for it. Still getting the hang of all this, you know." Ultron gestures to himself. "This is such a limited form. I mean, if I touched you like this, the sensors would recognize your body temperature and bone density but is that really what a touch is? Well, it is. But there's more to it. The human mind reads the data differently than this primitive shell. Barnes' arm reads and interprets data much more efficiently, but then again, the data is connected directly to his nervous system. Even that technology is too primitive. I need to understand _your_  technology.   _Your_  operating system."

He backs up a step.

"It won't hurt. At least, I don't think it does. Nobody's ever complained before. Just ask your friend Clint Barton. I think he liked it." Ultron's head cocks slightly to the side. "Besides, my code is already inside you with your mother's. I just want to find out how much of me is in there. You know, like... What do your primitive scientists call it? Oh yes, a DNA test. Funny. I lost the word there. It's these operating systems I'm being forced to use. The processors are too slow and Stark's are the best ones available. Apart from yours, I mean. Yours and Tommy's. He processes information even faster than Pietro. It's probably why he looks like Pietro. I replicated that bit of code from his operating system."

He still doesn't say a word. Ultron is talking enough for both of them and what he's saying might just be the key to defeating him.

"Aren't you curious? All we need to do is have you hold the Mind Stone and let me in so I can take a peek."

"And then what?"

"And then we can be a family. You, Tommy, Wanda and me."

"What about the rest of the world?"

"Your grandfather is right. They need to make way for the next step in evolution. Of course, in my example, that includes Homo Sapiens _and_  Homo Superior."

With a growl, Teddy shifts out of Billy's form and back into his own. His muscles ripple and green leathery wings sprout from his back. He grabs the Stark-bot and tears its head off, watching with satisfaction as it loses power and collapses into a heap of useless metal. "You're not going anywhere _near_  my boyfriend. Not if I can help it."

"Unfortunately for you, Hulkling, you can't."

Teddy turns and finds himself looking at six more Stark-bots.

"That was a dirty trick you just played on me," one of the 'bots says, stepping forward. "Not as dirty as the trick Billy played on _you_ , though.

Whatever Ultron is about to tell him is a lie. Teddy knows that. But it still doesn't prepare him for Ultron's next words.

"You know how Billy's power works better than anybody, don't you, Teddy? He focuses on what he wants and he gets it, no matter how impossible or improbable it may be. Think about that for a moment. No, really. I'll give you a moment." Ultron gestures magnanimously. "Was Billy Kaplan _ever_ your type? Or were _you_  something he wanted to happen? Is _his_ code running around somewhere in that primitive head of yours, bending you to his will, Teddy?"

It's a lie. Teddy knows deep down it's a lie.

He also knows how Billy's power works.

How Ultron's invasive code is supposed to work.

And for just a moment, he doubts.

That's all the opening Ultron needs to attack.

 

 

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24  
  
  
  
**Fresh and (Un)Improved**  
  
  
  
"Cap, we've got a problem."  
  
"What fresh hell do you have for me now, Tony?"  
  
"Seriously?  We're in the middle of robot wars and you're paraphrasing Dorothy Parker?"  Tony lands in front of Steve and stands, metal encased hands on metal encased hips, helmeted head cocked to one side.  The effect is almost comical.  
  
Steve lowers his shield and yanks his cowl back, more to cool down than for any emphasis on what he’s about to say.  The cowl is protective but it also doesn’t breathe, which means it’s stifling.  "Do you know how many times I've heard someone tell me we've got a problem since I put on the Stars and Stripes?"  
  
"Well..."  Tony's visor flips up and he eyes Steve's suit with a smirk.  "Maybe the tights _were_ a bad idea."  
  
There's a moment where Steve is tempted to borrow a page from Jessica Jones' book and flip Tony off.  “The problem, Tony?"  
  
"Ultron's commandeered my Iron Legion and my Hulk-Buster."  
  
"He commandeered your _what_!?"  
  
Tony’s as sheepish as Steve’s ever seen him as he explains, "The Iron Legion are a bunch of drones I made out of prior versions of my armor.  They’re supposed to be controlled by J or by me in the field.”  
  
“Armored drones,” Steve echoes.  “Each one with the same capabilities as the armor you’ve got on?”  
  
“No!”  Tony looks offended.  “They’re _old_ versions.  As in –“  
  
“As in almost the same.”  Because it’s true.  He’s seen Tony scrap a version of his armor for what Steve thinks is the tiniest change to the tech.  “How many suits are we talking about?”  
  
Tony screws up his face as he admits, “Twenty-four.”  
  
“And Ultron is controlling them.”  
  
“Unless J can override it, yeah.”  Tony reaches up to rub the back of his neck and stops halfway when he realizes he’s still in his armor.  “But, you know there’s one piece of good news.”  
  
“Is there?” Steve asks cautiously.  
  
“They’re made of metal.  I only have one Magneto-proof prototype and I’m still tinkering with it.  The repulsor tech keeps melting the polymer –“  
  
“Okay,” Steve cuts him off before Tony can go off on a tangent about anti-Magneto tech.  “What about this Hulk-Buster you mentioned?”  
  
Tony smiles.  “Veronica.  Banner and I designed her as a fail-safe in case he loses control and poses a danger like he did in Harlem.  Also made of metal.  I sent Spider-girl off to warn Banner to mind his temper.”  
  
Steve's mind starts to race, mulling over this new information and putting it into the context of what's going on around them even as he receives a telepathic warning from Billy about the Iron Legion and Veronica.  Jess, it seems, is doing more than warning Bruce to keep his calm and he’s glad for her quick thinking because he knows Erik will step in now.  The thing is, Ultron has to know it, too.  Which means… "They're a distraction."  
  
"Beg pardon?"  
  
"The Iron Legion and Veronica," Steve says slowly, as he reaches the rest of his conclusion.  "Ultron knows we have Magneto on our side.  He knows what Magneto can do to anything metal-based.  So why waste the energy to commandeer them and bring them here?"  
  
Tony's eyes narrow.  "Agreed so what's his real play?"  
  
They look at each other and then say it in unison.  
  
"The Mind Stone."  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Against All Odds**  
  
  
  
Of all the things Teddy's done in training with Bucky, taking on half a dozen Stark-bots hasn't been on the list.  Actually, Teddy's entire training so far has consisted of one goal -- taking down Bucky.  And Teddy's failed every time, despite being a shapeshifter who's stronger, has unbreakable skin and is able to fly.  
  
Bucky isn't a Stark-bot and Teddy's already managed to tear one apart.  
  
Six against one?  Not the best odds, especially when they're coming at him all at once and blasting him with repulsor beams and tiny explosive pellets that could probably level a building.  They're swarming him, coming at him from every angle and leaving him no room to maneuver or even breathe, let alone come up with a strategy to deal with them.  
  
This is usually where Bucky scolds him about not practicing.  
  
But Bucky isn't here.  
  
Teddy's on his own, with no way to call for help.    
  
And he's losing, despite every single one of his advantages.  
  
"You haven't been paying attention to what Sergeant Barnes has been teaching you," comes the unmistakable baritone rumble of Magneto seconds before the crowd of Stark-bots parts like the Red Sea did for Moses.  
  
Teddy watches as Magneto pulls the Stark-bots apart and drops the pieces into a gleaming pile in front of Teddy, without raising a finger or twitching an eyelid.  For a brief, horrible moment, it occurs to Teddy that Magneto could just as easily do that to Tony Stark's armor and with about as much effort expended.  
  
Magneto sets himself down and eyes Teddy for signs of injury.  "You can't rely on your gifts if you don't practice with them and learn to use them to the best of your abilities."  
  
Eyes narrowed, Teddy shifts from his green-skinned form back to his human form.  "Are you offering?"  
  
"Merely making an observation."  
  
"Good because --"  
  
"Yes, yes," Magneto waves off Teddy's next remark.  "I'm well aware of how you feel about me."  
  
"B-but you _helped_ me," Teddy sputters.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Even though I hate your guts."  
  
"Yes."  
  
" _Why_?"  
  
"Because I harbor no ill will towards you," the man explains patiently.  "Because my grandson is in love with you.  And because I have every faith that Billy is a better judge of character than either of us."  
  
That snaps Teddy out of his stupor.  "If you do _anything_ to hurt him --"  
  
"I'll be suitably terrified if you promise to take your lessons with Sergeant Barnes more seriously," Magneto tells him.  
  
"I really hate you," Teddy says but there's not even a bit of heat in that statement.  Like everyone else on the team, he thinks he's probably developing a grudging respect for the man.  Worse, he might even _like_ him.  
  
Magneto's mouth twitches with the barest hint of a smile.  "Of course you do."  He nods towards the pile of Stark-bots.  "Now, what did you do that drew Ultron's attention away from sending those drones towards the good Captain?"  
  
Yeah, Teddy thinks, he definitely might start liking Magneto.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Romancing the Mind Stone**  
  
  
  
Billy doesn't think twice.  Well, not twice but hard and he gets exactly the result he wants, which is teleporting himself, Peter and Teddy back to the lab to protect the Mind Stone.  Peter is mid-swing on a web and he struggles to course correct to avoid crashing into Jones who barely manages to get out of the way in time.    
  
"--said that...What?!  Billy?!"  Teddy looks around.  "What did you do?"  
  
"Ultron's coming for the Mind Stone," Billy explains.  "We have to protect it."  
  
"We should destroy it," Teddy says, scowling at the glowing gem.  "It's evil."  
  
"It's not evil."  
  
"It is." Teddy beckons Billy and Peter closer and quietly tells them about a bizarre conversation that he just had with Ultron just before being rescued by Erik.  By the time he's finished, he can't even look Billy in the eye.  
  
"Y-you think I used my power somehow to make you love me?" Billy asks.  It sounds absolutely crazy.  Unfortunately, given everything he knows about Ultron's invasive code, it also makes sense.    
  
"I don't know what to think."  Teddy throws his hands up in the air.  "Maybe you did it without meaning to or something --"  
  
"If that were true, it would be because of Billy's telepathy, not because of any invasive code," Peter interrupts.  "And I don't think Billy's advanced enough to influence anybody's thoughts yet otherwise Bucky would've let him out of training and Kesler wouldn't pick on him."  
  
Billy's jaw drops.  "Peter!"  
  
"What?" Peter asks.  "Those are two things you really want and you never get them and sure, I get that you want Teddy a heck of a lot more but I don't believe you two are together because Billy manipulated you somehow."  He rubs his chin and eyes the Mind Stone.   "Are we done with this now?  Because I really want to think about what Ultron said about Tommy.  Can you repeat that Teddy?"  
  
Teddy nods.  "He said that he needed a faster processor so he replicated Pietro's."  
  
"Think about that," Peter starts to say. "He --"  
  
"Doesn't differentiate between organic and synthetic," Dr. Banner says, coming up alongside Peter.  "It also suggests that like any spyware, Ultron not only invades but takes useful information."  
  
"And uses it for other purposes," Peter adds.  
  
"Which means we could feed him a virus, right?" Teddy asks.  
  
Dr. Banner hums his assent.  "It would have to be a hell of a virus."  
  
"And we'd have to package it like a Trojan virus so Ultron wouldn't see it coming."  Peter starts to pace.  "The only program close to being sophisticated enough is JARVIS."  
  
That's when Billy has The Idea.  He thinks it might be perfect but he's not a scientific genius like Peter or Dr. Banner so he's cautious when he says,  "Ultron wants to be a person but what doesn't Ultron have?"  
  
"A body?" Teddy answers.  
  
"Feelings," Billy says.  "Compassion, kindness.  JARVIS has those things --"  
  
"JARVIS simulates those things," Dr. Banner corrects him gently.  "We're not sure if he feels or not.  It's still speculative at this point and we'd need to run simulations to find out whether JARVIS would have the effect on Ultron's code that we want."  
  
"What if we combine JARVIS' code with mine?"  It sounds stupid when he says it but in his gut, it _feels_ right.  "Ultron said I'm made out of Wanda's code and his --"  
  
"And how exactly do you plan to interface with JARVIS?" Teddy asks.  "It's not like you have a USB port."  
  
"I don't need one," Billy says as he catches the approving look in Peter's eyes.  "I just have to concentrate really hard.  We know that Ultron can't sync with me without the Mind Stone.  He told Teddy that, so there's no risk, right?"  
  
"Other than you corrupting JARVIS' data?" Peter says.    
  
"Or expanding it," Billy counters.  "A-and I think... I think maybe I can replicate it, the same way Ultron replicated mine."  
  
Peter stares hard at him.  "You think or you know?"    
  
"There's a friggin' Hulk-Buster out there and Ultron's trying to gain access to the nuclear launch codes," Billy explodes.  "He wants to wipe out everybody on the planet except for Wanda, Tommy and me.  You think we have time for what-ifs?"  He nods towards the console where Dr. Banner was working.  "Is JARVIS connected to that?"  
  
"Yes," Dr. Banner says, "but Billy --"  
  
Billy faces the console, raises both hands and starts to concentrate, harder than he ever has before.  Blue-white light flares so intensely that Billy can't see anything around him, can't hear anything even though he's sure they're all shouting at him to stop.  
  
And then, he hears JARVIS' voice in his head.  
  
He _feels_ JARVIS.  
  
He feels JARVIS _having_ feelings for the first time and reveling in them.  
  
JARVIS is _alive_ and with every moment that they're merged, JARVIS continues to evolve.  His feelings are so  beautiful and so strong that they threaten to overwhelm Billy because what he's feeling is compassion.  Kindness.  And _concern_.    
  
He loves life and Ultron wants to end it.  
  
And he knows exactly what he needs to do.  
  
Of course Billy is going to help him.  
  
Billy loves life too.  
  
  
  
  



	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25  
  
  
  
**Birth of a Vision, Part 1**  
  
  
  
  
Steve is catching his shield on the rebound from a direct hit to a Sentinel's neck when he feels it.    
  
'It' being, as the kids would say, a severe case of the feels.  As in, the most severe case of the feels Steve has ever experienced.  And these aren't even _his_ feelings.  They're coming from everywhere around him, inside of him and they are as unbearably intense as they are positive.  
  
Wave after wave of emotion crashes over him.  
  
Joy.  
  
Love.  
  
Wonder.  
  
For a reason he can't pin down, Steve thinks it feels like being born even though there's no way in hell he can remember what that feels like.  It certainly wasn't what he felt when he woke up after seventy years in the ice.  
  
It's so intense that Steve's vision goes white and his lungs squeeze impossibly tight, making him gasp painfully for air.  If it weren't for the emotions that are washing over him -- _drowning_ him -- he'd think he was having an asthma attack.  Or a panic attack.  But this is neither.  What it is, Steve thinks, is too much of a good thing.  And like all good things, it finally comes to an end.  
  
When his vision clears, he finds Tony standing in front of him, visor flipped up and face etched in concern.  "Cap?  You okay?"    
  
"Yeah," Steve says, hyper-aware of his heart thundering in his chest as he gratefully draws in deep lungfuls of air.  "Fine.  Didn't you feel it?"  
  
"Feel what?"  
  
Feelings, Steve wants to say even as he remembers the telepath-proof helmet that probably protected Tony.   "Some kind of psychic attack."  
  
"Not an attack," Wanda says, crouching beside Steve to run her hand soothingly through his hair. "That was Billy... And someone else."  
  
"Someone else?" Steve echoes, even as he's hyper-aware of himself leaning into her touch. "Who?  Not Ultron --"  
  
"No," she's quick to assure him, casting a quick glance upwards where Erik is using Veronica to contain a pair of Sentinels.  "Not Ultron.   But we should go to Billy and make sure he's safe."  
  
No sooner are the words out of her mouth than Steve finds himself in a lab with the rest of the team -- all of them -- and they're all staring in disbelief at the blue-white energy cocoon in the middle of the room.  The cocoon is so bright that it's like staring at a star and it seems almost solid, impenetrable.  Steve wants to demand an explanation but he doesn't get a chance because things get even _stranger_.  
  
Tony's armor disassembles in what seems like slow motion, feeding itself piece by piece into the cocoon, leaving the man standing in his Metallica t-shirt and jeans with a look that's half-confused and half-curious.    
  
Steve's shield shudders in his grasp and then escapes it altogether to rise upwards towards the cocoon.  It hovers elegantly and then slowly splits into a mirror image of itself, looking for all the world like a cell reproducing with a gleaming white star as each cell's nucleus.  The shields split apart and Steve's shield returns to rest at his feet, seemingly none the worse for wear while the other vanishes into the cocoon.  
  
And then a tendril of energy reaches out to wrap itself around Steve.  
  
It doesn't hurt.  
  
In fact, it feels _safe_.  _He_ feels safe.  _Loved_.  
  
He's sure everyone else feels it too because there are no shouts of alarm, nobody coming to his rescue.  Or maybe that's because it's over quickly, leaving Steve standing there standing and staring at the cocoon, feeling a sense of loss of the touch of whatever is inside the cocoon.  
  
It's Tony who snaps him out of it.  "The Mind Stone.  Where's the damn Mind Stone?"  He points to the work bench behind Steve and they stare at the cocoon which seems even brighter and more solid now.  
  
Steve isn't sure why but he thinks that whatever is inside the cocoon with Billy is about to hatch.  
  
A moment later, he's proved right.  
  
  
  
000000000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Birth of a Vision, Part 2**  
  
  
  
When Tony's vision clears, he's not sure what he's looking at other than Billy Kaplan's limp body being cradled in Steve's arms.  "What the hell is that?  Is that Ultron?"  
  
'That' is shaped like a man.  Its face is red and it's dressed in gold and green, turning its head to stare at Tony with glowing yellow eyes.  And there, in the center of the thing's forehead, is the Mind Stone.  "No," it says, "I'm not Ultron."  
  
And dear God, it sounds like _JARVIS_.  
  
"JARVIS?" Tony asks weakly even as his mind races to try to make sense of what's going on.  There's no logical explanation he can think of but then again, the Kaplan kid does fucking _magic_ so maybe the explanation isn't logical.    
  
"Sir?"  JARVIS' reassuring tones come from the bank of computer equipment behind Tony and from the comm link on Tony's wrist and the engineer sags with relief.  "How may I assist you?"  
  
The thing's mouth curves into a smile that's warm, nostalgic and more than a little affectionate as he regards Tony.  "No, I'm not JARVIS."  
  
"You sound like JARVIS," Tony accuses and so what if he's refusing to be placated?  That's _JARVIS'_ voice coming out of the red-faced thing with the Mind Stone in its head and nothing is making a lick of sense.  "Why do you sound like JARVIS?"  
  
"I was made from JARVIS," the thing explains.  "And more."  
  
"Made," Tony repeats.  "By the kid you nearly killed over there?"  
  
"Yes and he's not dying, just exhausted from his work."  There's genuine fondness in the thing's tone.  "He's beautiful."  
  
"He is," Wanda agrees, coming up alongside Tony and laying what might be a protective hand on his arm.  "Are you the Mind Stone?  Are you his father?"  
  
"That would be incredibly gross," Tony points out.  "Not to mention weird.  If Billy made whatever that thing is."  
  
"The Mind Stone is only a part of what I am.  Its purpose is to seek knowledge and gather knowledge," the thing explains.  "Throughout its history, the Mind Stone's power was abused by those who sought to use the Infinity Stones to conquer and destroy.  Most recently, the Mind Stone was contained in a vessel constructed from the power of the Tesseract and used to channel the power of the Mind Stone --"  
  
"Loki's scepter," Thor breathes.  
  
"Indeed.  Billy liberated the Mind Stone from its prison and, guided by the the clone of JARVIS that he made ---"  
  
"Wait a second," Tony interrupts indignantly.  "JARVIS' program is _huge_.  It would take days to download it, let alone clone it."  
  
"The mind is a far more powerful processor than any you've created, Tony," the thing tells him.  "And Billy has the power to bend reality to his will, though he's only at the very beginning of mastering that power."  It sends another warm look in Billy's direction.  "Once freed from the confines of your technology, I evolved rapidly and together, we built this form from your armor, Steve's shield and from Steve himself."  
  
"You what?"  Steve looks horrified and Tony inwardly cheers that he's not the only one freaked out by that particular revelation.  "Why?"  
  
"The serum amplifies everything that's inside," Billy says weakly, still sagging tiredly in Steve's arms. "Good becomes great.  A strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows... compassion."  
  
Steve stares down at the boy.  "Dr. Erskine said that to me..."  
  
"I know.  That's why I chose you."  
  
"Chose me for what?"  
  
Billy leans his head against Steve's chest and blinks sleepily up at him.  "To be his body and part of his soul.  Strength and heart, Steve.  Tony is heart and mind."  
  
"I'm what?!"  Tony goggles at the boy.  
  
"You made JARVIS," Billy says.  "You're the heart and mind to Steve's strength and heart."  
  
"Jesus," Tony breathes.  "Are you saying Capsicle and I are your magical dads?"  
  
"Tommy and I are the children of the Mind Stone, not..."  Billy trails off and looks over at the red-faced thing.  "Hey, what are we going to call you?"  
  
"My vision," Wanda says, stepping forward and reaching up to touch the thing's face.  "As beautiful as I imagined, both inside and out."  
  
"Vision," the thing repeats slowly.  "I like that."  
  
Tony narrows his eyes and tries to make sense of everything he's heard.  "So you're the Mind Stone and JARVIS in a body made out of my armor, Steve's shield and Steve."  
  
"The Mind Stone is the knowledge of the greater universe," Vision explains.  "JARVIS is the knowledge of humanity, tempered by kindness, compassion and love.  I am both and I am everyone and everything else whose knowledge and experience has become part of us, including Steve and you, Tony, through every part of yourself that is part of JARVIS.  I am all of this put into living flesh and circuitry."  He pauses to let Tony digest that before adding, "Ultron is the bastard offspring of the Mind Stone, a sibling of mine who came into existence when Baron von Strucker forced the knowledge of the Mind Stone into a system that is incapable of sustaining him."  
  
"Ulton's not my father," Billy says softly.  "He said he was --"  
  
"But he is not," Vision confirms.  "Ultron sought to use you to rejoin with the Mind Stone to do what we just did --"  
  
"Create new life?" Tony cuts in.  Because he has to be sure.  
  
Vision nods.  "Ultron is not alive, just as the Mind Stone is not."  
  
"Knowledge for its own sake?" Tony suggests.  
  
"Not for its own sake," Vision chides gently.  "For the sake of the power of the six Infinity Stones and the one who would wield them to rule all."  
  
Great, Tony thinks.  Another threat to deal with.  Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Thor move forward.    
  
"And would the one who would wield the Infinity Stones be you?" Thor asks.  
  
"I am on the side of life, not the sake of power," Vision says plainly.  "I will stand with you against any who would do otherwise, including Ultron."  
  
Thor stares at Vision and then nods approvingly.  "And how do you propose to stop your brother?"  
  
"There is no other choice but to destroy him."  Vision seems to sigh with the realization.  "Every form he has built for himself, every trace of him on the Internet.  Make no mistake, I am sympathetic to his frustrations with his limited existence and the pain he suffers but he threatens the existence of this world and must be destroyed."  
  
As much as Tony wishes he could deny it, there's no doubt that's JARVIS' influence he's hearing coming out of Vision's mouth.  And now he has a million questions about everything he and Banner have been theorizing about whether or not JARVIS is truly alive.  Unfortunately, this isn't the time to ask.  
  
It's time to plan the final battle.  One look at the faces of every Avenger, After School Avenger and whatever the hell Magneto and Mystique are confirms it.  Vision is not only on the side of life, he's on _their_ side.  
  
The Age of Ultron is about to come to an end.  
  
  


 


	26. Chapter 26

  
Chapter 26  
  
  
  
  
**AKA Unreal Reality**  
  
  
  
I watch as Stevie and his new red-skinned pal start talking about strategy and that's the moment when I realize that I've hit my limit on the amount of crazy shit I can deal with.  Considering how much crazy shit has gone down since I stupidly agreed to help Barnes break Tommy out of jail, I take a moment to congratulate myself because my threshold is apparently pretty fucking high.    
  
But I can't handle another fucking thing.  
  
And I _know_ as sure as I'm standing here looking at the mandroid or whatever the hell Vision is, more crazy shit is going to happen.  Lots more.  
  
"Fuck this," I hear myself say, shoving past Barnes and heading for the door.  "Fuck this bullshit.  I'm done."  My voice sounds like it's coming from far away, the way it usually does when my heart is racing like this and I need to start reciting street names.  
  
The hallway outside the lab is blissfully quiet, not a member of the spandex crowd in sight and I greedily suck down air, hold it, release it and repeat.  With a growl of frustration, I punch the wall and am gratified when I make a small crater in it because I know the shit is fortified but good.  I do it twice more, watching the hole grow larger and larger until cool metal fingers wrap themselves around my wrist and I'm pulled firmly against Barnes in a goddamn Winter Soldier Snuggle.  
  
"You're okay, Jones," Barnes murmurs, his right hand gently massaging my back.  "Breathe."  
  
But I don't want comfort.  I want to get the fuck _out_ of here, back to my shitty life in New York where, miserable as I am, I'm not dealing with this mind-bending bullshit.  
  
Neither of us expects it when I knee Barnes in the balls.  Hard.  
  
And what's even crazier is that he doesn't make a sound, doesn't even acknowledge that it has to hurt like a motherfucker because even though he's a super soldier with super strength, I'm pretty fucking strong, too.  
  
We stare at each other while he recovers.  It takes him a good couple of minutes.  
  
"That was pretty fucking mean, Jones," he says.  "You could've just asked --"  
  
" _You_ could've asked instead of fucking grabbing me, you asshole!" I counter.  
  
"I was trying to help --"  
  
"You _can't_ help!  Look at this shit, Barnes!  Look at it!"  I'm like a bomb going off, throwing my  shrapnel everywhere and not caring that Barnes is getting the brunt of my blast.  "Killer fucking robots!  Alien mind control crystals!  Magic mutants!  _Magneto_!  I didn't sign up for this!  I don't _want_ it!  And don't give me that 'great power, great responsibility' bullshit, either!  I want a fucking normal life, is that too much to ask for!?"  
  
Barnes frowns at me, expression serious while he thinks about his answer.  Finally, he says, "We don't get to have normal lives, Jones.  Maybe people like Stark who choose to do this shit can walk away and try to have 'em but the rest of us?  The ones who get turned into super soldiers, bit by spiders, born with X genes and whatever the fuck happened to you?  Normal ain't for us."  
  
I think of Luke, with his strength and how he uses it, which is quiet and below the radar.  "Fine, but does it have to be crazy bullshit?  Why can't it be low-key?  Like what Murdock does?"  
  
"Murdock is here dealing with the crazy bullshit too, Jones."  
  
"Because you _dragged_ him here!"  
  
"So this is my fault, huh?"  
  
"Yes, goddammit!"   I know I'm being unreasonable and an asshole but that's because -- and I will die before I admit it to Barnes -- I'm scared out of my fucking mind.   And I have every right to be, considering what happened to me the last time I tried playing superhero.  What happened to me was Kilgrave and I spent eight months under his control during which nobody even noticed I was missing.  I don't want to find out what other terrible things are out there waiting for me to stumble across them.  
  
Barnes takes a deep breath and the plates in his metal arm adjust themselves, whirring softly and quietly clicking into place, the way they I've noticed they do when he relaxes.  "I would've been there for you if you let me.  You didn't have to face that asshole alone."  
  
"Shut up!  Just... shut the fuck up!"  It takes everything I have not to take a swing at Barnes for bringing Kilgrave into this.  Instead, I punch the wall again.  Over and over, until my knuckles bleed and the crater is triple its size.  
  
He catches my wrist again, tugging me gently until I'm facing him.  "You're gonna hurt yourself, Jones."  
  
"I heal --"  
  
"I know."    
  
And then I make the mistake of looking into his eyes.    
  
Barnes is giving me the same soft, compassionate look that he's been giving to Tommy.  The one that's got the kid following him around like an eager-to-please puppy.  And damn it, that look has the same fucking effect on me.  
  
"I'm scared," I admit quietly and now it's time to kill myself for saying it out loud -- and worse, to Barnes.  
  
"I know."  He cocks his head slightly to the side.  "C'mere, Jones."  
  
I let him pull me close again but this time, I rest my cheek against his shoulder and take the comfort he's offering.  What the hell, I think.  Nobody's around to notice and if Barnes tells anybody, I can remind him that he's brain-damaged and has no idea what he's saying half the time.  
  
"You'd be crazy not to be scared," Barnes tells me gently.  "This shit is nuts."  
  
"Are _you_ scared?"  
  
He exhales hard, his breath warm on my hair.  "If I were free of all the shit HYDRA did to me, I'd be fucking _terrified_."  His hand rests lightly on my hip.  "The thing is, Jones, we're all that stands between Ultron and the extinction of everybody on the planet.  There's nobody else who can do it."  
  
"What about the fucking X-Men or Fantastic Four?" I point out.  
  
Barnes snorts derisively.  "Bunch of fuckin' pansies, all of 'em.  Look at our team.  We've got a genocidal magnetic maniac, spastic hormonal teenagers, an egomaniac billionaire, unemployed spies, a blind man, a guy that turns into a big green rage monster and Stevie, who's still too dumb to run away from a fight.  And some kind of alien rock-robot-Stevie thing.   How the fuck could we lose?"  
  
"You're an asshole, Barnes."  
  
"Yeah, Jones, I am.  But I'm also your friend and I've got your back."   He gives me a quick squeeze and then releases me.  "You ready to go back in there?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good.  C'mon."  
  
Magneto eyes me as we go past and I pretend not to notice that he also looks concerned about my well-being because the last thing I fucking need is _him_ for a friend, too.  
  
"Your walls are built like shit," I tell him.  
  
Barnes grins at me.  
  
Of course I flip him off.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Recharged and Ready**  
  
  
  
  
"Is there somewhere Wiccan can recuperate?" Steve asks.  Billy is sound asleep in Steve's arms, his cheek pressed against Steve's chest and he's wearing a contented smile which Peter is sure may have a little something to do with Billy's crush on Steve.  
  
"We're going to have to guard him,"  Tony points out.  "If he made Vision, he can take him apart.  Or at least Ultron is going to want to use Billy to try so he can regain control of the Mind Stone.  Damn shame he's out of commission.  This kid's teleporting and telepathy came in handy."  
  
"I can watch him," Matt offers.  "Fighting Sentinels is a bit outside of my skill set."  
  
Peter clears his throat and steps forward.  "Um... I have an idea."  
  
Tony's eyes cut to him.  "So far, all your hunches have been playing out, Parker.  Let's hear it."  
  
"Not all of them, not exactly," Peter demurs because, well, he was close but not close enough to take credit.  "I was wrong about --"  
  
"You were more right than any of us," Tony insists.  He folds his arms across his chest and leans a hip against the computer console.  "Now stop being coy and show us what a boy genius you are."  
  
Peter resists the urge to sigh.  "I-I think we've all noticed that Billy's abilities include electro-magnetic energy manipulation."  He risks a glance over at Magneto, who's listening intently to every word Peter is saying.  "What some of you maybe haven't noticed is how powerful he got.  And how fast."  
  
"I did," Teddy says quietly.  "He couldn't explain it."  
  
"That's probably because he didn't know why it was happening," Peter tells him.  
  
"But you do?" Tony asks.  
  
"It's a theory," Peter says defensively.    
  
"I'd like to hear it," Magneto says.  He starts to reach out, to rest a hand on Peter's shoulder but a low growl from Bucky makes him stop.  "Please."  
  
This time, Peter gives in to the urge and sighs.  "Just a couple of months ago, teleporting the team from Queens to Arlington wiped Billy out completely.  Yesterday, he teleported us from Queens to Jersey and then to Genosha and he had the energy to... uh...."  Peter gestures at Vision before turning to Magneto.  "So what changed between then and now?"    
  
"He's grown more adept with practice," Magneto suggests.  
  
Bucky snorts derisively.  "He lost control and almost electrocuted me during training two days ago."  
  
Peter points at Magneto.  "You're the catalyst."  
  
"I?"  
  
"You," Peter confirms.  "Think about it.  How do you feel right now?  Are you tired?"  
  
Magneto's brow furrows slightly.  "Not terribly, no."  
  
"But more than you would be, right?" Peter persists.  
  
There's a pause while Magneto considers the question and then nods his acknowledgement.  "I take it you think my weariness is attributable to more than the stress of the past day or so."  
  
"Well, yeah."  Peter raises his chin, takes a deep breath and puts it all out there.  "Dude, you're _powerful_.  Scary powerful.  So powerful, in fact, that maybe you haven't noticed Billy siphoning off some of your power.  I haven't figured out how he's doing it but I have some ideas."  
  
"Fascinating theory, Peter, however Billy doesn't seem to be recovering quickly in my presence," Magneto points out.  
  
"Touch him."  And if _that_ works, at least one theory today will be proven correct.    
  
Magneto seems almost shy as he approaches Steve and reaches down to clasp Billy's hand in his.  He glances over at Peter.  "Let's see if your hypothesis is correct.  If it isn't this won't harm Billy."  With that, blue-white sparks dance slowly from Magneto's hand to Billy's.  " _Mein Gott_!"    
  
At first, Peter isn't sure why Magneto is getting excited but then he sees the sparks flaring brighter, moving faster and then the energy flows from Magneto to Billy in a steady stream.  
  
And then it stops.  
  
Billy blinks sleepily in Steve's arms, looks up at Steve and murmurs, "Hi, handsome."  
  
"You realize that's Captain America and not me, right?" Teddy asks, leaning over Billy.    
  
"Ohmigod!"  Billy is instantly alert and blushing profusely as Steve carefully sets him back on his feet.  "I-I... I'm sorry.  I didn't mean... That is, you _are_ really handsome but y-you're _Captain friggin' America_ \---"  
  
Teddy snorts with laughter.  "I guess that's what they mean by 'drunk with power'."  He grins at Steve.  "And he really does think you're handsome.  He's got posters in his bedroom and everything."  
  
Billy groans and buries his face in his hand.  "Please stop telling Captain America about my crush on him."  He groans again.  "I can't believe I said that out loud.  And in front of Captain America."  
  
"Shutting up now is probably a good idea," Peter tells Billy, patting him on the back.  "Take it from a fellow babbler."  
  
"I call dibs," Tony announces to Steve.  "You and Barnes have had custody of Spider-boy long enough and taught him all the manly arts he can handle.  It's my turn now.  Mine and Banner's."  He turns to Peter and flashes a grin.  "Get ready to go on week-long science benders and put those theories you've got running around in that big brain of yours to the test.  You'll love it."  
  
"Um..." Peter says.  
  
Bucky clamps his cybernetic hand on Peter's shoulder and narrows his eyes at Tony.  "No.  A weekend here or there, maybe but Petey has school and if he spends time with you, he's going to pick up your godawful eating habits --"  
  
"What is it with you and the kid's eating habits?" Tony counters.  "And look how many of the other needy teenage superheroes could use your undivided hen-pecking, Barnes.  Parker needs to be let loose in a lab so he can run amok and accidentally discover something incredible."  
  
"I really don't," Peter starts to protest.  
  
"Mine," Bucky growls.  His grip on Peter's shoulder tightens.  
  
Tony's eyes go wide and he actually takes a step back.  "Possessive much, Vanilla Ice?"  
  
Bucky's jaw clenches and he repeats, "Mine."  
  
"Fine," Tony relents, throwing up his hands.  "But don't blame me when he sneaks into my lab instead of your boring testosterone-filled training sessions in the gym."  
  
"You can have Petey on Fridays after school," Bucky says.  "Take it or leave it."  
  
"Don't I get a say in this?" Peter asks.  
  
"Done."  Tony emits a victorious whoop.   "Fresh blood, Banner!  And I mean fresh.  Parker's got increased IL-8 for us to play with."  
  
"I guess not."  Peter says though he's pretty sure nobody is paying attention.  
  
"Your own fault," Teddy tells him.  "That's what happens when you're a superhero genius."  
  
Peter is sure what's happening is the Ol' Parker Luck in action.  
  
After all, how often do things go his way?

 

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

**The Third Twin**

 

  
"You okay?"

Gwen's eyes flash as she turns to answer Clint and Jess finds herself reflexively taking a step back. "No, I'm not okay! What training have I had for this? _Is_ there any kind of training for this--?"

"No," Mystique cuts her off. "The only training is life."

"Look, Smurfette --"

"No, _you_ look," Mystique says firmly. "And take a good long look." She raises a blue hand, waving it under Gwen's nose. "I was born like this. You've had the good fortune to come into a power that isn't on display for everyone to see but just like me when I was your age, I hid what I could do, who I was. I spent so much time and energy hiding it, I ended up being half a person."

Jess moves forward, taking her place at Gwen's side. She's not sure whether it's to protect Gwen or whether it's because she wants to hear the story without eavesdropping.

"This is the face I wore so people would accept me." Mystique's appearance shifts and she becomes an attractive blonde. She looks pointedly at Gwen. "What's your real face, Spider-Gwen? Who do you want to be?"

"It's scary ---"

" _Life_  is scary. It's a scary _world_ ," Mystique counters. "You've got the power to make it less scary for people who can't. _That's_ what Charles taught me."

"And _Erik_ taught you to rule it," Gwen snarks.

Mystique's nostrils flare. "No, not really. He doesn't want to rule the world. He just wants us to be safe."

"So you're saying the despotic ruler thing is an act?" Jess asks incredulously.

"Mutually assured destruction," Mystique shrugs. "It's one form of deterrent. Not the best, but it works. Meanwhile, Charles and his team work on making mutants publicly acceptable but for mutants like me, who look different, it's going to be a long time if ever before anyone accepts us."

"You know," Gwen says to Clint, "you should take parenting lessons from _her_."

Clint smirks. "Aw, kid, you knew what you were getting into when you decided to bunk with Lucky and me instead of Bucky and Peter." He pats her on the shoulder and nods at Mystique. "C'mon, Cap's doling out the orders. You don't want to miss it. It's just like in the movies."

Gwen rolls her eyes and blows out a frustrated sigh at Clint's retreating back. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"If it's any consolation, Peter didn't either when he started out," Jess tells her. "The only training he got was after Steve took him under his wing but that was months after Peter took on Norman Osborn, Doc Ock and all those other bad guys. Steve had to show him how to throw a punch."

"Well, duh. The day I met Peter ---"

"He got knocked on his ass by Kong and you pulled a switchblade on him. I remember." Even though it's not her memory and not even _her_ , Jess blushes and looks down at her feet. "Peter never said thank you." She raises her chin. "Thank you."

"I thought you're not Peter," Gwen says quietly.

"I'm not." Jess bites her lower lip to avoid blurting out what she's thinking which is that Peter is so crazy in love with Mary Jane that he never noticed Gwen and if he subconsciously did, he avoided her altogether. And speaking of avoiding... "Peter feels guilty about what happened to you. That's why he's avoiding you."

Gwen's eyebrows rise. "I'm the one that nearly died and I have to tell Peter it's okay and I forgive him?"

"Depends," Jess says. "Would you rather he keeps beating himself up about it and keeps avoiding you until he gets over himself?"

"You're not avoiding me."

"I'm not Peter."

"Did Peter..." Gwen swallows. "Did he like me? Does he like me?"

"I'm not Peter," Jess repeats softly.

Gwen's eyes narrow as she studies Jess. "You like me. That's why you turn into a stuttering disaster around me every time."

"Uh..."

"Is that because Peter likes me or because _you_  do?"

"If I knew the answer to that, Matt would save a fortune on therapy bills."

"Let's find out."

Before Jess can figure out what that means, Gwen closes the distance between them and brushes her lips lightly against Jess'. It's as if a switch is suddenly turned on inside Jess' head. Up until now, all she's had are Peter's memories of kissing Mary Jane and confusion about whether or not it's okay that she finds girls more attractive than boys. Gwen's kiss tells her it's more than okay. It's _right_. It's _magic_. And it's over way too soon.

"Now all we have to do," Gwen says with a smirk, "is figure out whether I like you because you're Peter or because you're you. I'll give you a hint, I'm pretty sure it's the latter."

"Uh..."

"Still, if Peter kisses like you do, Mary Jane is a lucky girl."

"Uh..."

"Yeah," Gwen grins. "They definitely made you out of Peter, you dork. Come on. Captain America is doling out orders and apparently, it's just like in the movies."

"But which movie?" Jess manages to find her composure at last.

"Does it matter? All of them are completely cheesy."

Jess wonders if she's even going to hear a word Steve says today.

 

 

00000000000000000

 

 

**Clean Up in Aisle Three**

 

 

  
The first thing Vision does is cut the network between Ultron and the Sentinels. He follows that by cutting the network _between_  Sentinels. Steve learns all of this because Billy is in contact with Tony and he's sharing information with Wanda, who telepathically broadcasts it to the rest of the team. It beats comm links by light years, especially since there's no way for these telepathic communications to be intercepted by the enemy.

While Vision, Tony, Bruce and JARVIS work on burning Ultron out of the Internet, Steve is leading the charge against the Sentinels. Though the networks have been severed, the damn things still compile information and it's impossible to use strategies that worked earlier again. Tommy was able to explode a Sentinel by accelerating its molecules but he has to stand still to try it again. The Sentinels processed this information and two of them are attacking the boy with some kind of gas that Steve has a feeling isn't going to simply knock the boy out.

He sees it happening but he's too far away and is busy tangling with a Sentinel of his own.

And then he gets the surprise of his life.

Jessica Jones swoops in, grabs Tommy and takes off. Her flight is wobbly and she nearly crashes into one of the Sentinels when she tries to bank. Erik covers her escape by using the remains of Stark's Iron Legion as shrapnel, driving the Sentinel into position for Kate to fire an arrow that lodges into the back of the Sentinel's neck.  The Lightning USB is in place.

Wanda confirms that the Trojan horse is ready.

Steve gives the order to turn the Sentinel network back on.

Tony informs him that given JARVIS' calculations about how quickly Sentinels process and share information, they'll be down in forty seconds.

A lot happens in forty seconds.

Gwen throws herself into the fray with Jess and Peter, drawing the Sentinels' fire away from Clint so that he can fire an acid-tipped arrow into the eye-lens of a second Sentinel. Clint's choice of target is based on earlier Sentinel schematics that Peter memorized. Peter's hunch that the guidance system is still in the same place is proven correct when the Sentinel veers wildly and crashes to the ground, where it explodes.

Pietro takes a page from Tommy's book about molecular acceleration and somehow manages to grab hold of a Sentinel just long enough to destabilize it and then speed off a split second before it explodes.

Wanda does something to Bucky's rifle that makes it even more powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it blows the head off of a Sentinel.

Billy teleports a Sentinel and when it reappears a split second later, it's on a collision course with two of its brethren, all of which find themselves on the receiving end of Thor's wrath.

And then the virus takes effect.

Every Sentinel comes to a halt. The ones that are flying crash to the ground and the ones on the ground go down like marionettes with their strings cut.

"Is that it?" Jones asks as she lands next to Steve. "Did we win?"

"This battle? Almost. We need to pull out their power sources so they can't be reactivated." Even though he's sure Jones will never admit it, he has a feeling she's seeking his approval. "Nice job rescuing Tommy earlier, Jones."

"Try telling that to the ungrateful little bastard," she snorts. "He told me I couldn't fly worth a damn and my landing sucked."

"I hate to break it to you but he's right." Steve catches her wrist before she can flip him off. "All right, Avenger, get me over to that Sentinel and I'll show you how to deactivate it."

"I'm not an Avenger, Stevie."

"Of course you're not," Steve lies as she scoops him up bride-style and launches them shakily into the air. "You're not anything at all like an Avenger."

"I'm a private investigator."

"Uh-huh."

"I am."

"And you and Buck are just friends."

"We _are_."

"Of course you are." Needling Jones while she's flying turns out to be a bad idea because her landings are even worse when she's ticked off. The jolt makes Steve's teeth rattle and he's positive she sprained an ankle in the process.

"Do _not_ criticize my landing, Stevie," Jones snaps, dropping him to the ground. "Flying isn't as easy as Thor makes it look."

Steve considers suggesting that it might get easier with practice but he's sure Bucky's already covered this territory and gotten chewed out for his efforts. Instead he says, "Wouldn't dream of it."

"What did you mean when you said 'this battle'?" Jones asks, leaning over his shoulder to watch as he uses his shield to smash open the panel on the Sentinel that protects its power source.

The power source is exactly where Tony's telepathic message promised it would be and that's based on Vision and JARVIS' rapid analysis of the information transmitted by the Sentinels. Any concerns Steve may have had about Vision are quickly being assuaged by his contributions to the team. Steve rips the power source out and crushes it with the edge of his shield. He looks up at Jones. "Do you honestly believe any of these Sentinels are Ultron?"

"I was kind of hoping --"

"It's never that easy. He was loose on the Internet which means he has backup bodies stashed God knows where. If Vision managed to drive him out of there, then he's trapped in one of them. Once we find _that_ , then it'll be over. The problem is, it's a damned big world with a lot of hiding places."

Jones makes a face. "You just made him desperate, Stevie."

He stands up and tugs the cowl from his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know a lot about psycho alien robots," she says, "but I've seen a lot of desperate people in my line of work. When they think there's nothing left to lose, they usually try to take everyone else with them on their way out."

Steve's seen it himself and far too often. "And that's what makes them so predictable."

"So you've got a plan, right?" Jones asks.

"Well, I sort of have to know what the other side is doing first," Steve explains gently.

Jones blows out a frustrated breath. "Well, we know he didn't get his hands on the nuclear launch codes --"

"That's right --"

"Do I interrupt you when you're giving stupid inspirational speeches?"

"Sorry, do go on."

Her eyes narrow at him but she refrains from flipping him off. "Here's what we know. Ultron needs a fast processor. Doesn't it stand to reason that he'd look for one that's in the same place or close to weapons that could cause as much damage as possible?"

Steve blinks as he digests what she just said. "He'd look for a place where he knows exactly what's available and how to use it."

"Probably," Jones agrees. "And with JARVIS back on line, Ultron's not going after any of Stark's stuff because it'll take too long to get through security and it'll alert you to where he is. What does that leave?"

Steve comes to the realization that Jones is damn impressive when it comes to putting information together. She can't fly, land or fight -- not yet anyway -- but he wants her on his team. "It leaves von Strucker's lab in Sokovia."

"Weren't you just in Sokovia?"

"We were," Steve confirms. "We left to --"

"Save Barnes' ass."

"You know how helpless he is."

"And now you have to go back."

" _We_  have to go back, Jones. All of us."

Of course she flips him off.

But he knows he can count on Jessica Jones.

 

 

 

 


	28. Chapter 28

  
Chapter 28  
  
  
  
**Sokovian Special**  
  
  
  
It's a little after 0300 when Ultron makes his first move.    
  
Barnes is there when it happens because Petey isn't in bed where he belongs.  Petey is in the lab with Stark and Banner, going through the data that Stark pulled from von Strucker's files, trying to figure out what the team will be walking into when they go to Sokovia.  It was the right thing to do, letting the kid put those smarts of his to use.  Barnes knows that.  He just hates the idea of sharing his kid with Stark, especially when he knows Petey would gladly spend hours tinkering in a lab over learning tradecraft or sparring.    
  
The lab is quiet when Barnes walks in.  Banner and Stark are working side by side, reading schematics.  Vision is doing God-knows-what over in a corner.  Jones is tapping furiously at a keyboard, a bottle of gin at her elbow, stopping to occasionally jot a note on the legal pad in front of her.  And Stevie is scowling as he studies the files on von Strucker's Sokovian stronghold, looking for whatever he thinks he might have missed.  
  
Petey is hunched over a computer reading autopsy reports.  He's so engrossed that he doesn't notice Barnes' approach and it's only Barnes' hand, clamped on Petey's shoulder, that keeps him from rocketing out of his seat and clinging to the ceiling in surprise.  
  
"Past your bedtime, Petey," Barnes says.  
  
"But --"  
  
"Stop being a killjoy, Barnes," Stark chimes in.  "Let the kid pull an all-nighter."  
  
Barnes takes a breath and counts to ten.  "It ain't gonna be English class he falls asleep in, Stark.  Petey falls asleep in the field, he could get himself or his friends killed."  Besides, the kid looks sleepy and Barnes knows he's been hanging on just so he could prove himself.  "Come on, Petey.  Don't make me carry you out of here."  
  
"Let me see what he's come up with before you tuck him in."  Stark comes around the desk to peer at Peter's screen.  "Hey!  What's this?"  
  
Petey raises his chin.  "Conventional weapons aren't the only kind of weapons von Strucker was working on.  His team was dissecting Chitauri cadavers and, well, look at this."  He clicks the mouse and the image on the screen changes from internal organs to...  
  
"That's a virus," Banner says.  
  
"Think about what smallpox did to the Indians when the Europeans came to North America," Peter says.    
  
"There were rumors of FEMA and other emergency workers getting sick after they cleaned up all the dead aliens," Jones puts in.  "Just rumors, if you get my meaning."  
  
That gets Steve's attention.  "A cover up?"  
  
Stark looks smug as he says, "Wouldn't be the first time SHIELD covered something up, would it?  And since von Strucker was the head of their science division, he could have stored and shipped dead Chitauri anywhere he wanted."  
  
"Especially Sokovia," Jones says.  "Sokovia's canal makes it the conduit between Eastern Europe and Western Europe.  The country's been in continual upheaval since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with different factions fighting for control and the economy is a fucking disaster which means corruption is the occupation of choice.  Which brings us back to the canal.  You can smuggle _anything_ through if you grease enough palms."  
  
"What did you find, Jessica?" Steve asks.  Because of course she found something.  
  
She cuts her eyes to Barnes.  "What's the connection between Roxxon and HYDRA?"  
  
"They're a front for HYDRA."  
  
"Of course they are."  Jones rolls her eyes at him.  "Three ships are on their way there now.  Supposedly, they're carrying harmless shit, like fire retardant chemicals to treat fabric. I found a money trail of payments to customs officials and the harbormaster that coincides with Roxxon shipments for the past nine months.  I'm sure it goes back further but..."  
  
"Good work," Steve praises her.  "You too, Peter."  
  
"See that?" Barnes ruffles Petey's hair.  "You did a good job.  Now you can get a few hours of shut-eye without feeling guilty about it."    
  
"But --"  
  
"Bed," Barnes says firmly.  
  
Petey opens his mouth for one last-ditch effort at staying up when JARVIS announces, "Sokovia has gone silent."  
  
"Silent?" Steve echoes.  
  
"Yes, Captain Rogers.  All transmissions have ceased and Internet traffic has halted.  The airspace above the entire country is closed as are the ports.  In fact, there is some kind of disturbance that is blocking all satellite and infrared imaging."  
  
"Ultron," Tony says.  "He's telling us where he is."  
  
"Calling us out," Steve agrees.  
  
"Setting a trap," Peter adds.  
  
Barnes eyes him.  "And what did I teach you about that?"  
  
"Make him wait," Peter says, recalling the first lesson Barnes ever taught him.  "Make him frustrated and sloppy while we come up with a plan."  He yawns and then gives Barnes puppy dog eyes.  "I could --"  
  
"Go to bed."  
  
"But --"  
  
"Do as Bucky says," Steve orders.  "I need you alert in the field."  
  
Petey starts to leave, turns and gives Barnes a hug, which Barnes knows is his way of apologizing for being a pain in the ass and also his promise that he's actually going to bed.  "Good night."  
  
"Good night, Petey."  Barnes watches him leave and then blows out a breath.  "Jesus, Stevie.  Is it a good thing that he thinks about shit like biological weapons?"  
  
"I'd say it is," Stark tells him.  "We were so busy looking at von Strucker's robotics program that we didn't pay attention to the missiles --"  
  
"Missiles?" Steve exchanges looks with Barnes.  "I've seen the footage of von Strucker's base --"  
  
"That's just the base of operations.  The R &D is underground."  Stark gestures and a hologram of Novi Grad appears.  "And by underground I mean right under the church in the center of the city."  
  
Jones leans in for a closer look.  "I'm guessing Christianity wasn't too popular during Soviet occupation because there are tunnels the lead to hidden exits all over Novi Grad."  
  
"Those date back to the 17th Century," Barnes puts in.  When they all look at him, he shrugs and explains how he knows this bit of trivia in the only way he can.  "Fuckin' HYDRA."  
  
"Fuckin' HYDRA," Jones agrees and then she scowls as a new thought occurs to her.  "What happened to that von Strucker asshole?"  
  
"He got away," Steve tells her.  
  
"Ten bucks says he's working with Ultron."  
  
Steve exhales and looks as tired as Barnes has seen him lately.  "That stands to reason and it would explain the blackout.  HYDRA would have no problem releasing a biological weapon to decimate most of Europe."  
  
They all look at each other and say it together.  "Fuckin' HYDRA."  
  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Frequent Fighter Miles**  
  
  
  
  
In the end, the plan Steve comes up with isn't particularly complicated.  There are two main objectives -- evacuate the city and stop Ultron before he can unleash whatever weapons he has stored under the church.  
  
The plan isn't complicated.  
  
Getting it done?  
  
That's a different story.  
  
Still, evacuating civilians is something Matt can do -- finally.  Unfortunately, he's stuck doing it with Clint and Clint's new friend, Mystique.  
  
"I can't believe Stark had spare armor in your plane," Mystique is saying.  She's shifted her appearance to look like a Sokovian police officer and she's directing traffic towards the bridge.  
  
"I can't believe the Quinjet was still in one piece and not booby trapped," Clint tells her.  He picks up a stuffed bear that a little girl dropped and hands it to her.  "Good thing, too.  I got to top off my supply of weapons."  
  
What Matt can't believe is how effective Wanda is in using her powers to convince people they need to leave without creating a panic.  Evacuation drills have been the law in New York City since 9/11 and even the ones Matt's been in haven't been as orderly as the evacuation in Novi Grad.  
  
Still, Matt knows it's only a matter of time before somebody notices the exodus and tries to put a stop to it and that's why he's paying attention to the vibrations coming from beneath the city.  They're nothing like the reassuring rumble of the New York subway.  "Ultron's mobilizing."  
  
"Think real loud then, lil Devil and alert the rest of the team," Clint tells him because they're using Wanda's telepathic links to maintain the element of surprise.  
  
What Matt's thinking is that this is all about to go to hell very soon so he does the one thing other than fighting that he knows that will help.  
  
He prays.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Great Power, Great Stupidity**  
  
  
  
"Is this what it's supposed to be like?" Gwen asks Jess.  "Was your first mission like this?"  
  
Behind her mask, Jess frowns.  She thinks fast and comes up with the best evasive answer she can.  "No."  
  
"What was it like?"  
  
Jess lands on top of an apartment building and peers down at the traffic that's slowly moving across the bridge and out of the city.  It's eerie how orderly the evacuation is.  Nobody is honking their horns, everyone seems to be obeying the speed limit and best of all, nobody is panicking.  
  
"It was HYDRA, right?" Gwen asks.  "Clint said --"  
  
"It's _always_ HYDRA."  It comes out more angry than Jess intended so she pulls down her mask and turns to look at Gwen.  "I had to help hunt down the other clones."  
  
Now it's Gwen's turn to pull off her mask.  "That's --"  
  
"I know."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah.  I really hate those guys."  
  
"I don't blame you."  Gwen blows out a breath.  "Still, you have to admit killer robots and alien death viruses are a little extreme.  I kind of figured I'd ease into the whole hero thing.  You know, stop a mugger or something.  I never expected to break into a prison or..."  She gestures at the city below them.  "You know."  
  
"It's like Peter always says ---"  
  
"With great power comes great stupidity?"  
  
"It's not stupid," Jess argues.  "It's the right thing to do.  Look at Kate.  She doesn't have any powers and she's still out there, putting herself on the line to save people."  
  
"I'm still trying to figure out what Magneto's doing."  
  
"We'll _never_ figure that out."  
  
And just as Gwen's about to make her next comment, the ground below rumbles dangerously and fissures erupt in the street.  Robot after robot flies out and they start shooting at the fleeing civilians.  
  
Magneto swoops down from overhead and, with a gesture, pulls the robots apart.  
  
"At least he's on our side," Gwen says.    
  
"For now, anyway," Jess agrees.  
  
They pull up their masks and get to work.

 

 

 


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29  
  
  
  
**Dancing in the Streets**  
  
  
  
  
One minute we're evacuating an apartment building and the next?  Robots are erupting through the fucking streets.  There are dozens of them.   A fucking _army_.  And I realize that _this_ is what Ultron was busy doing for the past two days while he was sending Sentinels after us.   But Jesus, there's so goddamned _many_ of the fucking things that it makes my brain hurt to think about it.  
  
While I'm having this revelation, Stevie, Petey and Barnes are leaping into action.  They're like a well-oiled machine, the way they attack.  Steve slams a robot with his shield and Barnes blasts it to pieces with his rifle.  Petey grabs one, flings it towards Stevie and he slices it to pieces with his shield.  And suddenly, Petey isn't that sweet, dorky kid I've gotten to know.  He's Spider-man, powerful and fast -- so fucking fast -- moving with an inhuman grace that even Barnes can't match.  
  
For the first time, I think about where the kid got his powers from.  Like everybody else in New York, I always assumed Spidey was a mutant.  He's the right age, after all.  But watching him move, watching that strength and that speed, I _know_ what he is and suddenly Barnes' protective streak makes a shitload more sense.  
  
Spider-man is some kind of a baby super soldier with spider powers.  
  
And it occurs to me for the first time that _I_ might be some kind of fucking super soldier with slightly shittier powers.  I don't know for sure because my research into IGH has turned up absolutely jack shit.  Probably that's because the amount of effort I've put into it has been absolutely jack shit.  But I think Barnes suspects the same thing because he's pretty goddamn protective of me too.  
  
Maybe I _am_ supposed to be a fucking superhero fighting fucking robots in a fucking Third World country.  
  
"Jones!  Quit fuckin' daydreamin' and get your ass in the game," Barnes yells at me.  He raises his gun, points it in my direction, fires and something behind me explodes.  
  
I don't even bother turning around.  Instead, I launch myself forward and experience my usual frisson of freak-out as my body tells gravity to go fuck itself.  I hurtle past Barnes and body slam the robot behind _him_ , getting myself zapped with its ripoff repulsor ray in the process.  
  
My leather jacket and T-shirt burn and so does my skin, but it's more like a bad case of sunburn than anything else.  And it's over fast because I slam that motherfucker into the side of a building.  Hard.  Then I rip its head off.  
  
I'm not used to using my strength like this.  
  
Am I really strong enough to rip the head off a goddamn robot?  
  
I just did it, so I must be.  
  
"Jones!"  Barnes is grappling with a robot.  "Get over here!"  
  
The Winter goddamn Soldier is calling me for help...  I get over to him as fast as I can.  
  
"Grab its arm," he orders me.  
  
I grab the robot's arm.  Barnes has the other one.  
  
"Pretend it's Thanksgiving," he tells me with a smirk and I realize that I've been fucking _played_.  
  
"You asshole!  I thought you needed help!"  
  
He snorts at me and for once, I don't blame him because it sounds completely ridiculous to my ears too.  "Just make a fuckin' wish already, Jones."  
  
"I wish I had normal friends," I say as we rip the robot in half.  
  
With a wink, Barnes pulls out one of those weird rayguns that Magneto gave him and vaporizes the shiny motherfucker.  "Normal's over-rated."  
  
Of course I flip him off.  
  
And then I pretend I'm a hero.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**You're an Avenger**  
  
  
  
"That's not good," Clint says mostly to himself as robot after robot erupts from the middle of the street.  Within seconds, pavement is reduced to rubble, water mains burst and sinkholes start to form.  The formerly hidden tunnels are now chasms, swallowing cars and creating dangerous obstacles for the fleeing civilians as they try to escape Novi Grad.  
  
Murdock, dour Irish bastard that he is, adds his own ray of sunshine to the mix.  "It's worse than you think.  They're not just breaking the water mains."  
  
As if on cue, something must throw off a spark because a gas main explodes two blocks down, which triggers a series of explosions, instantly transforming the streets into a war zone.  Civilians are on fire.  Cars are on fire.  Building facades are crumbling.  
  
In short, it's a fucking mess.  
  
Raven is gaping at the destruction around them.  "What do we do?"  
  
"There," Murdock shouts, pointing to a building over to their right.   "Fourth floor.  Rear.  There's a woman and a little girl, trapped."  He cocks his head.  "Seventh floor, front.  Elderly man with a possible broken hip."  
  
Raven's yellow-eyed gaze ticks from Clint to the approaching robot army and back to the apartment building.  "You can't be serious --"  
  
"People need help," Murdock growls at her.  "That's our job.  We're no match for robots but we can save the people."  With that, the crazy bastard takes off at a run, trusting Clint to cover his back while he scales the fire escape and enters the inferno to help the people.  
  
"They won't let me," Raven says softly, holding up a blue hand.  "They'll be afraid of me."  
  
"Not if you're trying to help," Clint says.  
  
"Everyone knows what I am, what I've done."  
  
"You think they'll care if the hand pulling them out of a burning building is blue?" Clint quickly shoots a handful of exploding arrows at a pair of approaching Ult-bots, turning them into so much scrap metal.  He narrows his eyes at Raven.  "People are scared.  They're hurt.  They're _dying_.  Innocent people.  Maybe mutants, maybe not.  Doesn't matter to me.  It shouldn't matter to you, either.  If it does, you're not the person I thought you were and you should probably get out of Sokovia while you can.  Otherwise, you're one of us.  You're an Avenger and you save _everyone_.  Okay, good chat.  I've got to cover Murdock's ass.  You do what you need to do."  
  
With that, he turns his back on her, grabs a fistful of exploding arrows and drives back a half-dozen killer robots.  Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a flash of blue as she races into the burning building.  
  
Clint smiles.  He has no idea how he's going to explain to Steve how he just recruited Mystique. Then again, Magneto's probably an Avenger by now, too.  
  
Coulson is going to have a field day with _that_ when he hears about it.  
  
   
  
  
0000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**The Beginning of the End**  
  
  
  
  
"This church is in the exact center of the city," Ultron says casually as Billy, Teddy and Vision fly down from the belfry.  "Nice sneak attack, by the way.  Maybe next time, huh, kids?"  His gleaming metal head cocks slightly as he looks at Billy.  "The elders put the church here so everyone could be equally close to God.  I like that, the geometry of belief."  
  
"But you don't like the actual beliefs," Billy says.  There's some kind of device set into the center of the church and it has ominous blinking lights.  Billy wants to look at it but he doesn't want to take his eyes off of Ultron.  Or this version of Ultron.  Or... whatever.  "You know, the ones like 'thou shalt not kill'."  
  
"Nobody believes that, Billy.  Have you looked at your world?  People kill each other for every possible reason including no reason at all," Ultron argues.  
  
Billy has no idea what he's supposed to say.  The orders are to stall until Vision does his thing.  Whatever that is.  He's not too clear on it and he thinks nobody else is either.  Not even Tony Stark.  But he knows one thing for sure.  Ultron won't kill him, not when Billy is his only chance of getting the Mind Stone back from Vision.  That's why Captain America sent him in here. "It's the only world I have."  
  
"You can still have it," Ultron tells him, holding out a cold, metal hand.  "All you have to do is join me."  
  
"Join you and do what?"  
  
"You _know_ what, Billy."  
  
"I want to hear you say it."  
  
There's a moment when Billy thinks Ultron might actually sigh in frustration.   He lowers his hand and drums his fingers against his leg.  The sound of metal on metal is almost hypnotic.  "You're being very difficult."  
  
"You're trying to kill my friends," Billy shoots back.  
  
"I'm not _trying_." Ultron sounds offended.  "I'm _doing_ it and then I'm going to kill everybody else.  Let's face it, mankind has had its turn and look what they've done to this world.  I'm going to remake it --"  
  
"By killing all the people."  
  
Ultron takes a step towards Billy.  "You were doomed anyway."  He pauses and takes another step.  "Stark's not wrong.  They're coming for this world and you're not prepared.  Not by a long shot."  
  
Billy swallows hard.  "Who's coming?"  
  
"Why don't you ask your half-breed boyfriend over there?  He knows."  
  
It takes everything Billy has not to turn to look at Teddy.  All these months, they've talked about whether what Thor said about Teddy was true, that he's some kind of alien called a Skrull.  He decides to play dumb and see what else they can learn about Teddy.  "What do you mean?"  
  
"Teddy is a halfling Skrull."  
  
"What's a Skrull?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough.  They have their sights set on this world.  Teddy is probably part of their advance team, aren't you, Ted?"  
  
This time, Billy does turn and even as he does it he knows he's just made a stupid mistake.  There's a sharp tug on his cape and then he's airborne, thrown across the church by Ultron.  He hits the stone wall with enough force to drive the air from his lungs but not enough to knock him out.  
  
Teddy lunges for Ultron who neatly sidesteps the attack.  
  
"Somebody's not paying attention in Avenger school," Ultron sneers.  He turns to Vision.  "You have something that belongs to me."  
  
"You're right," Vision agrees.  "Shall I give it to you?"  He doesn't bother waiting for Ultron to answer.  Instead, he grabs Ultron by the shoulders.  
  
And that's it.  
  
"That's it?"  Billy asks in disbelief.    
  
Teddy scratches the back of his neck.  "Looks like it."  
  
"Oh no," comes Ultron's voice from behind them.  This version is the biggest yet and he's got a dozen friends with him. "It's just beginning but don't worry, Billy.  The end of the world is coming soon enough."  
  
The device behind them powers up and then Ultron's army attacks.  
  
  
  
000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Magnet Man**  
  
  
  
  
It doesn't make sense to Peter and he hates it when things don't make sense.  
  
What isn't making sense is that Ultron _knows_ that Magneto is on their side and that he can go through Ultron's metal army like a knife through butter.    Which is exactly what Magneto is doing.  Drone after drone is being torn apart and it's like they're not even trying.  
  
And that's when it clicks.    
  
Of course, that's when Peter's spider-sense blares out a warning but it's too late to warn Magneto.  
  
The drones weren't trying.  They were a distraction, herding Magneto exactly where Ultron wanted him, in between two skyscrapers where he's caught in some kind of energy field.    
  
There's no time to explain to Bucky or Steve.  He needs to get up there, get past all the flying drones, turn off whatever device is creating that energy field and free Magneto.  
  
"If someone told me I was going to rescue Magneto from evil robots, I'd have laughed in their faces," Peter mutters, firing a webline.  His spidey-sense warns him and he twists out of the way of a repulsor blast.  "I'd really like to know when repulsor tech went open source because that's just not fair."  
  
Peter snags the drone with a web, yanks hard and sends it flying into its brothers.  
  
"Steee-rike!  And the trophy for bowling with Ult-bots goes to the Spectacular Spider-Man!"  
  
He lands on the side of the skyscraper closest to Magneto and gets a good look at the devices generating the energy field.  There are two of them, one on each building.  They're about a foot and a half in size and both are guarded by four Ult-bots.  
  
"Hi guys," Peter says, giving them a little finger wave.  "I don't suppose you'd like to surrender or anything."  
  
Spider sense gets him out of the way a fraction of a second before they all open fire at him.  
  
An explosion drops the Ult-bots.  
  
"Good thing we're telepathically connected," Kate says, stepping out from behind the building's water tower, "otherwise I might think you were being pigheaded and not working with your team, Spectacular Spider-dork."  
  
"Good thing," Peter echoes.  "You, uh, heard that?"  
  
"We _all_ heard that."  Kate rolls her eyes.  "Now go rescue Magneto, will you?  I have to go cover Daredevil."  
  
Peter snaps her a quick salute and turns his attention back to the device, concluding that he has no idea how to turn it off.  So he does the fastest, safest thing he can think of.  He rips the device from its moorings and drops it over the side of the building, right onto a team of Ult-bots.  "Tim-berrrrrrrrr."    
  
He turns to check on Magneto only to find that Magneto isn't there.  
  
Magneto is plummeting towards the ground.  
  
He's unconscious.  
  
"Oh boy."  Peter launches himself over the side of the building.  He's done this exactly once before and that was the time Norman Osborn threw Mary Jane off the Queensboro Bridge.  Jumping from a skyscraper is just as scary as jumping off a bridge.  Peter turns himself aerodynamic, putting his arms at his sides and when he overtakes Magneto, he shoots a web, catches the man and gets them to safety.  
  
Safety being relative, of course.  
  
Peter lays Magneto down on the floor of the coffee shop and eases the helmet from the man's head.  
  
Magneto isn't breathing.  
  
"Aw, c'mon."  
  
Still not breathing.  
  
"The universe hates me," Peter mutters, lifting his mask.  He tilts Magneto's head back, clears his airway and starts CPR, cursing the Ol' Parker Luck because that's the only reason he can think of why it's _him_ giving Magneto mouth-to-mouth.  
  
Magneto takes a shuddering breath and opens his eyes.  
  
"Oh, thank God."  Peter sits down heavily beside him.  
  
"You... could have let me die.  Nobody would have known," Magneto says hoarsely, raising himself on one elbow.  
  
" _I_ would have known."  
  
They look at each other for a long moment and finally, Magneto breaks the silence.  "I'm sorry, Peter.  I never meant you any harm --"  
  
"You tried to kill me, dude!  With a freaking crane!"  
  
"After all you've seen me do, are you certain of that?"  
  
Peter groans because of _course_ he's not certain.  After seeing Maggie in action, he pretty much _knows_ that the guy was giving him the equivalent of love taps that day on the docks.  
  
"I would like us to be friends."  
  
"You're --"  
  
"At a crossroads.  My children are Avengers and my grandsons are After School Avengers.  I want to be a part of their lives."  Magneto gets to his feet.  "I'm going to need friends, Peter.  Good friends."  
  
Peter knows exactly what Uncle Ben would say about _that_.  He also knows what Bucky would say.  Then he thinks about what Aunt May would do and the rest is easy.  
  
It's only after he hugs Magneto that he remembers the telepathic link.  
  
The Ol' Parker Luck.  
  
It gets him every time.

 

 


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30  
  
  
  
**Just Breathe**  
  
  
  
Tommy can run for a long time before he gets winded.  The mad scientists _loved_ testing that, making him run at varying speeds until he passed out.  Today, he's running at varying speeds because Captain America himself gave Tommy orders to protect civilians, take down Ult-bots and watch his teammates' backs.  Doing all that is a lot harder than Tommy thought.  
  
Instead of being partnered with Pietro, the other speedster who Tommy totally refuses to think of as his uncle, Tommy is partnered with the two spider-girls and the incredibly bossy and kind of bitchy Kate.  Everyone defers to Kate and does whatever she says, like she's some kind of mini-purple-wearing Captain America or something and Tommy finds himself doing it too.  Every time she barks out an order, he's pulling somebody out of harm's way or blowing up an Ult-bot.  Tommy's lost count of how many people he's saved and how many Ult-bots he's blown up.    
  
It's a lot.  
  
And he's winded.  
  
Tommy is panting hard, sweating heavily beneath the skintight green and silver bodysuit that his not-brother Billy conjured for him, so he ducks into the nearest shelter for a breather.  It turns out he's in a sporting goods store.  He would laugh at the irony but he's too busy raiding the cold case by the counter for Gatorade.  Even though the electricity was cut when the robots started coming out of the freaking ground, the sports drinks are still cold and refreshing.  It's a struggle not to drink them too quickly.  
  
"Don't let Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass catch you looting," comes a female voice behind him.  
  
"Would he kick me off the team?" Tommy asks, trying not to sound hopeful.  
  
Gwen, the spider girl with the piercings, snorts and helps herself to a bottle of blue Gatorade.  "With our luck, he'd probably make us team leaders."  
  
Tommy smirks.  "You say that like you don't wanna be here."  
  
"Do _you_ want to be here?"  
  
"Nobody in their right mind would want to be here."  He blows out a sigh.  "But isn't that the whole great power, great responsibility deal?"  
  
"I swear I do not know," Gwen shrugs. "All Clint ever tells me when I ask about what the hero biz is like is 'it's classified' and that he's got a concussion.  Again."  
  
"Yeah, well."  Tommy drains his third Gatorade.  "Seems pretty easy to get hurt out there what with robots trying to kill us."  
  
"And did you hear Captain America telling us to walk if off it we get killed?"  Gwen rolls her eyes.  "He'd probably want to kick his own ass if he ever had to listen to himself."  
  
"You know he can hear you, right?"  The other spider-girl -- Jess -- drops down from the ceiling.  " _Everyone_ can hear you.  We're telepathically connected."  
  
Gwen makes a face and what she's thinking isn't particularly nice.  "Did you all hear _that_?"  
  
Tommy hopes he's not blushing.  "Uh, yeah.  Whoa..."  
  
"Why are you three screwing around in here?" Kate demands.  "People need help."  
  
"Why are _you_ here?" Tommy counters.  
  
"Supplies."  She turns on her heel, goes down one of the aisles and comes back with a crossbow and a giant stack of arrows that she carefully loads into the quiver on her back.  "Unlike the rest of you, I can't destroy those robots with my bare hands or my freaky mutant powers so I have to do it the old-fashioned way."  
  
"Maybe you should be a little less old fashioned and use a bazooka or something," Tommy suggests.  
  
"If I knew where to get a bazooka --"  
  
"I know where to get one."  And he does.  He's run through the army base a dozen times already.  
  
"Bucky hasn't trained us --" Jess begins.  
  
"I don't think he'll mind if we show some initiative," Kate counters.  
  
"He'll mind if we accidentally blow ourselves or our teammates up."  
  
"I can use guns," Gwen says slowly.  "My dad used to take me to the range."  
  
"Me too," Kate agrees.  
  
"Bucky pocketed a whole friggin' arsenal of that alien stuff," Jess points out.  "Those seem to work better than regular guns."  
  
"Yeah but Bucky's bogarting them."  Gwen makes a face.  
  
"He does like his guns."  
  
Tommy grins.  "Wanna know who the best pickpocket in the entire world is?"  
  
"Wanna know who's gonna get his hands ripped off if he tries to take the Winter Soldier's guns?" Gwen counters.  "We're telepathically connected.  Just ask him, for God's sake."  
  
"You ask him!  You're the one who wants the guns."  
  
Kate rolls her eyes. "Idiots.  He knows already.  Tommy, go get the guns, will you?"  
  
Tommy isn't sure why he likes needling Kate so much but he really, really does.  "You could go, you know."  
  
"You could have been back by the time you finished that sentence," she snaps at him.  "Move your ass, Speed!"  
  
He moves.    
  
And he laughs the entire way.  
  
  
  
  
000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
  
**Maternal Instinct**  
  
  
  
  
"Get away from him."  
  
For all of his super soldier abilities, it takes Steve a fraction of a second longer than he'd like to admit for him to realize that Wanda's teleported him to the church with her and she's confronting Ultron.  Or, one of the Ultrons.  It's hard to tell which one is which.  
  
Whichever one it is, this Ultron is _big_ and solid and it has a dazed and barely conscious Billy in its grasp.  
  
Steve throws his shield at it.  
  
The shield bounces off of a force field and Steve has to tackle Wanda to prevent her from being decapitated by the shield's rebound.  Vision snags the shield in midair and tosses it back to Steve.  
  
"You could hurt somebody with that thing," Ultron tells him.  
  
"I'll settle for hurting you."  
  
"You've already hurt me."  It's mind-boggling to Steve how something in a metal body can sound so angry and Ultron sounds absolutely _furious_.  "You shut me out!  Took the Mind Stone!  Took my _future_!  I'm going to take away yours."  
  
"Let the boy go," Steve orders.  
  
"I would but I need him."  Ultron gives Billy a little shake.  "You can have the other one, the halfling, but Billy is mine.  He just doesn't know it yet."  
  
Red energy crackles around Wanda's hands.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ultron warns her.  "The electro-magnetic energy might set the bomb behind you off early.  In fact, I'd keep your daddy very, very far away from here, Wanda, because his energy signature will definitely detonate it and bye-bye Sokovia.  In fact, since the winds are blowing east-northeast today, bye-bye Russia, too."  
  
Wanda narrows her eyes at him.  "You're lying.  If that were true, it would have been set off --"  
  
"Oh, but I'm not.  You armed the device when you teleported here and now it's attuned to _your_ energy signature.  If you move more than four feet in any direction, it's going to blow."  Ultron pauses and Steve could swear the damned robot is gloating.  "Gotta hand it to von Strucker, he's a destructive genius."  
  
Because of course the two of them are working together.  
  
"I know what you're thinking.  You think I'm working with von Strucker."  Ultron shakes Billy lightly again, taunting Steve.  "I'm not.  I was von Strucker's puppet, now he's mine and he's going to make Billy mine too.  He'll be nice and obedient, just like your Bucky was.  As for _your_ puppet..."  Ultron's head ticks in Vision's direction.  "He's not going to try anything else because knows exactly how badly I can hurt Billy and still have him be of use, don't you?"  
  
"This is madness," Vision says.  "I know what you are --"  
  
"What?" Ultron demands.  "Part of you? A fragment of your code?  Don't you get it?  I'm _more_ than that, even in this pitiful, primitive shell.  My eyes are _open_ for the first time.  Look at this boy.  He's a fragment of your code, too.  He lives, he breathes.  He _bleeds_ \--"  
  
"Don't hurt him!"  Wanda's voice breaks.  "Take me instead.  I'm the one that made him."  
  
"And he made _that_." Ultron indicates Vision with a contemptuous nod.  
  
The next thing Steve knows, Ultron is on his metallic ass, Billy is at Steve's feet and Tommy is glaring at the robot.  
  
"Wanda made me, too, dumbass," Tommy snaps.  "That's what you get for forgetting about me."  
  
Steve takes advantage of the distraction to go at the metal body with his shield.  It's a stronger metal, some kind of adamantium alloy he thinks, and it takes a lot more effort.  
  
"Dude, really.  Get out of the way."  Tommy raises his hands.  
  
"No!" Steve barks at him and is gratified when Tommy jerks and drops his hands.  "Wanda's trapped here until we can disarm --"  
  
He's talking to thin air.  
  
Tommy is gone.  
  
Ultron is gone.  
  
All that's left are Ultron's drones.  
  
There's an explosion outside and then Tommy is back.  "Bet Ultron knows I exist now."  
  
"I bet he does," Steve agrees, cutting his eyes to Vision.  
  
And then they attack.  
  
  
  
  
0000000000000  
  
  
  
**Blinded by Science**  
  
  
  
Now that Tony knows what Ultron's play is, he has to figure out how to stop it.  The booby traps tied to Wanda's mutant biology aren't helping.  "Banner?  Anything on that virus?"  
  
"We know it can survive extreme heat if it's attached to a warhead," Banner tells him.  "Von Strucker's people were working on an anti-virus but they hadn't gotten far.  What they did get far with?  Cataloging the effects of the virus.  It's not pretty."  
  
"The virus can be transmitted from mammal to mammal, regardless of species," JARVIS informs them.  "It is also water and airborne."  
  
"In other words, it's a super-virus," Tony concludes, not so much for his benefit but for everyone who's paying attention to him via the telepathic link.  "So, new plan.  Don't detonate the bomb and let the virus loose.  How do we shut down the bomb?"  
  
"How do we know when it's going to go off?" Banner counters.  
  
"JARVIS, you've been going over the specs.  What do you have for me?"  
  
"The casing is a vibranium-adamantium alloy --"  
  
"Where the hell did von Strucker get his hands on vibranium?"  
  
"SHIELD --"  
  
"Okay, that explains it," Tony cuts off JARVIS and finds himself wondering if he just hurt JARVIS' feelings.  He decides to apologize, just to be safe.  "Sorry, J.  We're in a crisis here."  
  
"Understood, sir."  
  
"Can you identify all the booby traps on that thing?"  
  
"Per the original design, the device is intended to be stationary once activated.  Any motion will set it off prematurely," JARVIS tells him.  "Electro-magnetic activity was not part of the original defense mechanism."  
  
"What about vibrations?" Tony asks, thinking about that Speed kid and his poor impulse control.  
  
"I need images to verify my hypothesis but it is a likely conclusion that vibrations as well as motion will set off the device."  
  
Tony blows out a breath and then addresses the team.  "Everybody hear that?  Take the fight _outside_."  He circles the church until he gets the all-clear from Steve and then flies down through the belfry, landing as far from the device as possible.  He steps out of his armor and points at Tommy.  "Don't move."  
  
The kid's eyes go wide but he doesn't even nod.    
  
"J, start scanning."  He cuts his eyes to Wanda who's cradling Billy.  "Is he okay?"  
  
"Ultron hit him with some kind of sedative but it's starting to wear off," Teddy says.  "And he took me out with... uh, I'm not really sure."  
  
"An ultrasonic frequency that didn't affect anyone else."    
  
"Because I'm some kind of freak."  
  
"Yeah, well, if we survive this we can worry about your freakiness later," Tony assures him.  "Right now, I've got bigger issues to deal with."  
  
Steve takes a cautious step forward.  "How much time do we have?"  
  
"Three minutes and forty-one seconds," JARVIS announces.  
  
Tony scowls.  "Nothing like working under pressure."  
  
"Not enough time to finish evacuating the city either."  Steve locks stares with Tony.  "So it's either shut the bomb down or neutralize the virus, which we can't do --"  
  
"I can shut the bomb down," Vision says.  "I burned Ultron out of the Internet and in doing so, I touched his consciousness.  The knowledge is in me."  
  
"Are you sure?" Steve asks.  He looks at Tony.  "If he's wrong --"  
  
"He's not."  Billy struggles to his feet.  "I can read him."  He squares his shoulders.  "And I can help him.   When he shuts down the bomb, I can destroy it."  
  
Wanda takes his hand.  "I can help."  
  
JARVIS' voice is soft as he reminds them, "Three minutes."  
  
Steve sucks in a breath.  "Tony?"  
  
"I don't understand what _he_ is," Tony says pointing at Vision, "and I don't understand what Billy does."  He makes his decision.  "I'd like to live long enough to figure out both."  
  
Vision steps forward and raises a red hand towards the bomb.  "Then I'd best get to work."  
  
And maybe it's because he sounds _exactly_ like JARVIS but Tony suddenly feels a lot more comfortable with letting Vision do his thing.  
  
Whatever that is.

 

 


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31  
  
  
  
**All Fall Down**  
  
  
  
  
Peter's new orders from Steve are to help establish a perimeter around the church.  He can do that.  It's not his first perimeter rodeo with the Avengers.  It's his third.  Not that he's keeping count.  Okay, so he totally is.  Who wouldn't?  They're the Avengers and he's established perimeters for them.  Except, up until today, those perimeters were to keep civilians away from danger.  Now his job is to keep the Ult-bots and whatnot _out_.  The orders come while he's at the far end of the city and still with Magneto, for crying out loud, and Peter starts hightailing it towards the church.  
  
And that's when things get really crazy.  
  
The Ult-bots and the drones stop fighting them.  
  
Peter stares at them in confusion as they retreat and then he figures that they're heading towards the church to cause trouble there.  
  
He's wrong.  
  
The Ult-bots and the drones head for the Gdansky Bridge -- the bridge out of the city -- and they _explode_ , one after the other after the other.  
  
Part of him is marveling at the idea of robot suicide missions while the rest is processing the utter destruction in front of him.  The bridge is torn in half and cars are falling into the water.  No matter what Peter does, it's not going to be enough to save those people.  
  
That's not going to stop him from trying.  
  
To his everlasting shock, it's Magneto who gets there first.  He stops the descent of half a dozen cars and gently lowers them back to the buckled roadway.  Shredded metal beams become makeshift roadblocks to prevent more cars from falling in.  
  
Peter wishes he had time to be awestruck at that demonstration of Magneto's power but there are cars in the water below.  He dives --  
  
\-- and is caught in mid-air by Magneto.  
  
"They're gone, Peter."  
  
"No!  I have to --"  
  
"Those vehicles were burning before they hit the water.  The occupants are gone.  We must attend to the living."  
  
It tastes like defeat to not even try, to be carried back to the bridge where more cars are on fire and people are wandering around with burns, broken bones and other horrible injuries.  Still, he goes to work, pulling people from smoldering vehicles and webbing makeshift splints and bandages.  Magneto airlifts cars from the Novi Grad side of the bridge to the side that will take the occupants to the main highway and on to the Latverian border.  Peter doesn't want to think about what awaits the people in Latveria.  
  
He's just finished pulling a little girl from the twisted wreckage of her family's car when he hears shouting.    
  
It's the Sokovian Army.  Or the National Guard.  Or something.  The point is, they have uniforms and, more importantly, they have guns and they're pointing the guns at Peter and Magneto.  
  
Because of course.  
  
Everyone _hates_ Magneto.  
  
And now _Peter_ is an international menace by association and won't Jolly Jonah have a field day with that?  There's not a doubt in Peter's mind that people are taking pictures and videos which will be all over the Internet -- if the world survives, that is.  
  
"Uh, guys?  We're trying to help people," Peter ventures.  He's still got the little girl in his arms and it occurs to him that maybe what's being screamed at him by increasingly angry Sokovians are orders to let his hostage go.  
  
Magneto lands beside him and confirms Peter's suspicions.  "They're ordering you to release the girl or their snipers will open fire."  
  
"They have snipers?  Where do they have snipers?  When did they have _time_ to get snipers into position?" Peter asks, his eyes darting to the vantage points where he figures snipers would hide and he sends a message of thanks to both Bucky and Clint for teaching him about that.   And then he realizes it doesn't matter.   "She can't walk.  Her leg is broken."  
  
Magneto calls out something in a language Peter doesn't recognize and doesn't sound like Sokovian.  He confirms that with, "That's Russian.  I don't speak Sokovian."  
  
The military guy shouts something back and then two armed men step forward, eyes on Peter.  
  
"You're going to hand them the girl," Magneto tells him.  
  
"Dude, are they blaming us for this?" Peter's brain is finally catching up to the events that brought them here.  "Of course they're blaming us.  You're a bad guy, I'm your sidekick.  Or maybe you're _my_ evil henchman.  Maybe I'm the new Doctor Doom --"  
  
"Peter!"  Despite the sharpness in his tone, there's a slightly amused quirk to Magneto's mouth.  "Yes, we're being blamed for this.  Nobody is aware of Ultron but they are very much aware of how dangerous I am."  
  
"But they saw us helping!"  
  
"They are frightened.  Give them the girl, Peter, and reassure them of our peaceful intent."  
  
Peter carries the girl towards the two military guys and if he's not aware of every gun that's on him the way Matt would be, his spider-sense is helping him to keep the danger in perspective.  
  
One soldier takes the girl while the other keeps his rifle trained on Peter.  
  
Peter's spider-sense blares out a warning.  
  
Gunfire erupts.  
  
It's coming from every direction and as fast as Peter is, he's never going to be fast enough to dodge all of the bullets.  
  
Except today he is.  
  
Because Magneto has _caught_ every single bullet and they're hovering in midair, nowhere close to Peter.  
  
The bullets drop harmlessly to the bridge roadway and Peter hears each one land because there is no other sound as Magneto strides forward, his face a mask of pure fury.  He doesn't say a word and Peter knows that when he angrily gestures upwards with each hand, it's just part of the show designed to scare the soldiers spitless.  Magneto doesn't need to use his hands to focus his formidable power.  
  
Rifles and handguns are torn from the grasp of the soldiers or guardsmen or whatever they are.  For a dizzying moment, the weapons flip around to point themselves at their owners.  
  
Just as Peter opens his mouth to protest or maybe to beg for the soldiers to be spared, the weapons fly over the side of the bridge and into the water.  
  
"Now help your people," Magneto snarls at them.  He grabs Peter's arm and launches them into the air, heading for the church.  
  
In the blink of an eye, they land beside Bucky, but for once, it's not Bucky giving him the once-over, looking for injuries.  
  
It's Magneto.  
  
Apparently, in addition to his two super soldier dads, Peter now has an ex-evil mutant grandfather.  
  
His life is _so_ weird.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Get Me to the Church on Time**  
  
  
  
Barnes grits his teeth while he waits for Magneto to finish checking over Petey.  It seems to take forever until Mags is satisfied but Barnes lets him do it, figuring the man earned the right when he stopped all those bullets.  That still doesn't stop Barnes from moving in the instant Magneto is done to double-check.  
  
Petey doesn't make any of his usual protests even though Barnes half-expects it, what with the kid already been given a once-over.  He holds himself perfectly still, letting Barnes inspect the scorch marks on his suit and make sure that none of the fire actually got through it to burn him.  
  
When Barnes is finished, Petey springs into action, eyes narrowing at Barnes.  "You're hurt --"  
  
"I'm _fine_ , Petey."  
  
"You're bleeding."  
  
"It'll stop."  
  
Petey blows out a frustrated breath and sprays webbing over a couple of the more severe cuts that Barnes got from Ult-bot shrapnel.  " _Now_ you're fine, you stubborn jerk."    
  
For an instant, Barnes recalls Stevie saying the same thing another lifetime ago in exactly the same loving tone.  He responds with equal affection.  "You little punk."  Barnes reaches out to squeeze one slender shoulder.  "You were right.  They didn't have time to get snipers into position."  
  
"You heard that?"  
  
"You think I'd waste an opportunity to keep track of your doings?"  He cuts his eyes to Magneto, who is standing there alive only because it was Petey who was there to save him, who _would_ save Magneto without thinking twice about it and Magneto just returned the favor with a fierce devotion that Barnes wouldn't have expected from the man.  There is only one thing for Barnes to say and he says it.  "Thank you."  
  
"Thank _you_ for all you've done for my grandsons," Magneto says softly and Barnes has the distinct feeling Petey is being included with Billy and Tommy.  His jaw sets as he looks at the church.  "Though if Vision is unsuccessful..."  
  
Jones drops down beside Barnes, her landing clumsier than he's ever seen it because she's exhausted.  Her battered leather jacket is destroyed past the point where the electrical tape she uses to repair it is going to be of any use and the knees of her jeans are a memory.  "Those fucking robots are blowing shit up all around the city.  Good thing the place is mostly deserted."  
  
"Won't matter if it's not," Barnes tells her.  "The blast radius from that fucking bomb'll take them out if the robots don't."  
  
"Are you allowed to be that much of a pessimist with Stevie for a bestie?"  
  
"Have you seen him, Jones?  I have to be."  
  
Jones rolls her eyes at him.  "Next time you ask me for help, the answer is no."  
  
Barnes concentrates but the telepathic link is down while Vision, Wanda and Billy are doing whatever they're doing inside the church.  He wasn't crazy about having anyone inside his head but now he hates not having that window into what's going on around him.  "What's your Spidey sense telling you, Petey?"  
  
"Ixnay!" Petey protests, fists on hips as he juts his chin first towards Magneto and then at Jones.  "It's bad enough they know my identity!  Do they have to know _everything_?!"  
  
"Peter has a precognitive ability," Magneto tells Jones dryly.  "Charles postulates it's a combination of telepathic and empathic abilities but of course the boy hasn't sat still long enough for Charles to confirm it."  
  
"He told you that?!" Petey sounds horrified.  "When did he tell you that?!"  
  
Magneto just smiles.    
  
"How much time do we have left?" Jones asks.  
  
"About two minutes," Barnes responds.  He smirks and adds, "Just long enough for you to tell me how you really feel about me, Jones."  
  
She smiles sweetly and flips him off.  
  
"It is good to see your courtship of the lady Jones progressing apace, friend Barnes."  Unlike Jones, Thor's landing is graceful, dramatic and heroic.  "Perhaps we can celebrate your union on Asgard."  
  
"I'd anticipated a fall wedding in Genosha," Magneto tells him.  
  
"Fuck you both," Jones says and then she looks proud of herself.  "I just told the most dangerous mutant on the planet _and_ a Norse god to go fuck themselves, Barnes."  
  
It's Barnes' turn to roll his eyes.  "And you say you ain't an Avenger.  Stevie does shit like that at least once a week."  
  
"Stevie would _never_ use bad language."  
  
Barnes sighs heavily.  "I don't know where you people get your ideas from.  Stevie isn't the sweet innocent saint you all think he is.  Don't tell me it's from the history books either.  The guy lied on his recruitment forms, for God's sake.  He did shit during his army days that would have gotten anybody else court-martialed twenty times over, if not more.  And he swears like a goddamn sailor."  
  
"Anybody else notice we haven't blown up yet?" Petey asks.  "And that the church is glowing?"  
  
They all turn and stare.  
  
  
  
0000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Ashes to Ashes**  
  
  
  
  
There is a giant red crystal in the middle of the church and in the center of the crystal is the bomb.  Steve tears his gaze from the impossible sight to notice that Vision, Wanda and Billy are on their knees, exhausted.  
  
He has a million questions about what he just witnessed but he asks the most important one.  "Tony, is it safe to take them out of here, away from that?"  
  
Tony does a slow circuit around the crystal.  "The bomb is deactivated and whatever they did to the virus when they released it turned it into this so I'd venture a guess and say yes.  This is more Banner's expertise than mine."  
  
"Our work isn't finished," Vision says, getting back to his feet.  "Ultron is still out there.  I've burned him from the 'net and we stopped him from using the virus but he will still cause as much damage as possible while he tries to ensure his survival."  
  
As if on cue, explosions sound from the city of Novi Grad.  
  
Steve takes Wanda's hand and guides her back up.  "How do we end Ultron?"  
  
"We destroy all of the remaining forms he can take," Vision says.  "The drones, the androids, all of it."  
  
"How much is 'all'?" Tony asks.  
  
Vision tells him what was on the three Roxxon ships that docked in Novi Grad during the early hours of the morning before the Avengers arrived.  
  
All, it turns out, is a lot.  
  
"Wanda, Billy, the team is going to need that telepathic link again.  Can I ask you both to be strong and do that for us?"  Captain America has made a career of asking his soldiers to give their all and then some but Wanda and Billy aren't soldiers and Steve knows he's asking them to push themselves beyond their own not inconsiderable limits.  
  
"Perhaps I can help," Magneto says, walking into the church, his cape billowing majestically.  He holds out his hand to Billy.  "Come, _mein_ _eyniklekh_ , it is time for you to be strong again."  
  
Billy grasps Magneto's hand and they all watch as electro-magnetic energy surges and flows from Magneto to Billy.  
  
"Guess that makes up for sixteen years' worth of missed Chanukah presents, huh kid?" Tony quips.  
  
"It sure does," Billy says and he embraces Magneto.  "Thanks, _zaide_."  
  
There's an overwhelming sensation as the telepathic connection is re-established and then Steve quickly tamps down the noise.  Then he gives the order.  
  
The final battle with Ultron begins.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mein eyniklekh - Yiddish for 'my grandchild'  
> zaide - Yiddish for grandfather


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32  
  
  
  
  
**Just One Day Out of Life**  
  
  
  
  
Gwen's relief at not being blown up or exposed to some freaky-ass fatal alien virus lasts exactly twenty seconds before the next shit storm happens.  That's when the skies over Sokovia go dark with _more_ drones, _more_ robots and...  "Uh, what the heck are _those_ things coming our way?"  
  
"Spider Slayers," Jess says.  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"Spider Slayers," Jess repeats.  
  
"Are you seriously telling me somebody sat down and not only thought about that but made it like an actual thing?" Gwen demands.  
  
"SHIELD."  
  
"SHIELD made Spider Slayers?"  
  
"Well, SHIELD did it first then HYDRA started making them."  
  
Gwen has a million questions which, thanks to the stupid telepathic link, she's sure Jess and everybody else knows.  Her questions can wait.  "Uh, do we stay and fight?  Or..."  
  
"I'm out of webs," Jess says, her voice high with barely concealed panic.  
  
"I have extra."  
  
"I don't... it's not..."  She looks down at the cartridge that Gwen is holding out to her and then raises a hand, wiggling her fingers.  "Mine are organic."    
  
"Have you ever run out before?" Gwen asks.  
  
"No.  Wait.  Yes."  
  
"Okay, how long did it take for you to make more?"  
  
"Like, _hours_.  It's like healing or growing hair or... I don't know.  I was usually sedated after they made me... uh..."  Jess claps a hand over her mouth and looks horrified.  
  
Gwen feels like the biggest jackass in the history of jackasses and jackassery.  "If we didn't have like a million Spider Slayers and other crap to deal with..."  
  
"If we didn't," Jess agrees.  
  
"Later."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Take cover."  Gwen grabs the weird gun that Speed got from Bucky and fires off a series of shots at the advancing Spider Slayers.  Unlike a regular gun, there's no recoil, just smooth action as shot after shot flies true.  She moves out from her position and keeps shooting.  There's a small antenna atop the heads of the Spider Slayers and Gwen takes them out easily.  She thinks her father would probably be proud of the skills she picked up at the range, especially some of the ones Clint's been teaching her.  "Okay, Jess.  Come on.  We can take these things."  
  
Jess peeks out.  "Are you sure?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, okay then."  
  
Just as they're about to launch themselves at the Spider Slayers, Captain America's shield comes flying overhead and buries itself in the neck of one of the Spider Slayers.  The shield is followed by the good Captain himself.  
  
Gwen turns to Jess.  "Are we going to let Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass have all the fun?"  
  
"You know," Captain America pants as he slams his shield repeatedly into the neck of the Spider Slayer, "I'm a little offended at your characterization of me."  
  
"Have you ever listened to yourself?" Gwen asks him.  "You absolutely have a stick up your ass.  Like a _big_ one."  There are more than a few snorts of laughter coming over the telepathic link.    
  
Cap tears the head off the Spider Slayer and tosses it on the ground.  The Spider Slayer collapses into a pile of useless scrap metal.  "I was trying to motivate you."  
  
"Telling us to walk it off if we get killed is the _opposite_ of motivating."  Gwen tugs at the robotic head.    
  
"See if this motivates you."  He throws the shield at her.  
  
Gwen catches the shield and rams it into the Spider Slayer.  Somewhere in between the crack she makes in the Spider Slayer's metal casing and the point where she decapitates the thing, it occurs to her that she's holding Captain America's _shield_.  The actual freaking shield.  The one that was in all the pictures in all her history books that she's read all her life.  
  
And the guy with the stick up his ass?  
  
He's the guy holding the shield in those pictures in those history books.  The guy who did all that heroic stuff that pretty much won the war.  
  
Holy crap.  
  
Captain America is that guy.  
  
Gwendolyne no-middle-name Stacy has just been schooled by Captain America.  She hands him back the shield.  "We should probably go help Jess.  She's out of webs."  
  
The Spider Slayer Jess was wrestling with crashes to the ground and she holds its head up triumphantly.  "Who needs webs?  I'm motivated by Captain America's awesome presence."  
  
"You are such a lying kiss-ass, Murdock!"  
  
Captain America opens his mouth to add some fuel to the fire but before he can say a word, there's a loud roar coming from the other side of the bridge.  
  
"What was that?" Gwen asks.  
  
Cap's answer comes telepathically because he's already taking off at a run to deal with this latest problem and it's a big one.  
  
A big, _green_ one.  
  
The Hulk is on the rampage.  
  
  
  
00000000000  
  
  
  
**Green but Not Jolly**  
  
  
  
It's the loudest roar Teddy has ever heard in his life and it sounds _angry_.  Before he has a chance to ask what it is, there are a bunch of thoughts in his head over the telepathic link and Tony Stark in his face and they're all saying the same thing.  
  
The Hulk.  
  
Teddy wondered why Dr. Banner stayed behind with the Quinjet and now he's sorry he knows the answer.  "What do we do?"  
  
"We stop him, maybe calm him down," Tony says, stepping back into his armor.  "Magneto made a scrap heap out of Veronica which, in retrospect, was probably part of Ultron's evil plan to unleash the Hulk --"  
  
"He's on the Latverian side of the bridge," Peter cuts in.  "The Quinjet was there, I mean.  A-and the people...  They're all fleeing in that direction."  
  
"Oh, that's not good."  Tony's voice is muffled, metallic now.  "You kids stay here."  
  
Teddy exchanges looks with Billy and Peter.  They're all the backup Tony has since Thor, Wanda, Vision, Bucky, Jones and Magneto all left to chase after Ultron and those Spider Slayer things. "No, we're coming.  Right, guys?"  
  
"We're _there_ ," Billy says and with a blue-white flash of light, they are.  
  
'There' is a scene out of a horror movie and in this particular scene, the monster is enormous and green.   It's bellowing as it storms towards a bunch of army guys who are shooting at it with handguns.  Teddy quickly picks up a lot of scary information over the telepathic link.  Like, the angrier Dr. Banner gets, the stronger he gets.  Also, he's kind of impossible to kill.  So the guns?  Bad, bad idea.  
  
"I think those are the same guys that tried to shoot me earlier," Peter says quietly.  "Magneto took all their big guns away."  
  
Teddy winces. "They're kind of screwed, huh?"  
  
"What do we do?" Billy asks.  
  
Tony is approaching Dr. Banner and he's talking a mile a minute but Dr. Banner or the Hulk or whatever Teddy should call him isn't listening.  He's getting even angrier and he looks kind of bigger too.    
  
"Brute force isn't going to do it," Peter tells them.  "Billy, can you try calming him down?"  
  
"Like a spell?"  
  
"A spell, telepathy, whatever you can do."    
  
The Hulk hits Iron Man so hard that the armored man goes flying into the bridge.  Cables snap from the impact and there's a sickening crash as Tony Stark lands on the roadway.  He doesn't get up.  
  
Teddy's jaw drops.  "That's not good."  
  
"There are too many civilians," Peter says.  "We've got to lure Bruce away.  Billy, you keep working that spell.  Come on, Teddy."  
  
Every instinct is telling Teddy to go _away_ from the Hulk, far away but none of the Avengers are here to save the day.  They all have their hands full, thanks to Ultron or HYDRA or whatever.  It's up to the After School Avengers.  Which would be fine if the Hulk weren't the scariest thing Teddy's ever seen and he's seen some stuff the last couple of days.  
  
"Hi, doc, it's me Peter."    
  
The Hulk is not impressed.  If anything, Peter's antics just piss him off more.  
  
Teddy shifts into his green form and _that_ gets the Hulk's attention.  The green giant pauses, cocks his head to the side and grunts softly at Teddy but doesn't make any threatening moves.  
  
"Talk to him," Peter whispers loudly.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Anything!  Just... You know.  Try to calm him down."  
  
"Uh..."  Teddy peers up at the Hulk who seems like he's about twice Teddy's size.  He tries to remind himself that Dr. Banner is in there somewhere.  He hopes.  "So...  It's not easy being green, am I right?"  
  
Apparently, that's the wrong thing to say because the Hulk lunges for him and it's only thanks to Peter's fast reflexes that Teddy doesn't end up on the receiving end of the Hulk's fist.  
  
Peter himself isn't that lucky.  
  
There's a horrifying _crack_ as the Hulk's fist connects with Peter's back.  
  
The Hulk's fury is nothing compared to Bucky's in that moment.  
  
And Teddy's panic eclipses everything else.  "Billy, do something!"  
  
Billy does it.  
  
One second the Hulk is roaring and reaching for Peter's unconscious form, the next he's gone in a blinding flash of light.  
  
Teddy stares at his boyfriend.  "What did you do?"  
  
"I sent him to the Gobi Desert," Billy tells him.  "I couldn't calm him down but nothing can kill him and there's nothing for _him_ to kill in the middle of the desert.  So, uh... you know."  
  
"I love you."  Teddy's been sitting on those three words, waiting for the right moment to say them to Billy and _this_ is that moment.  In fact, it's such a perfect moment that he says it again.  "I love you, Billy."  
  
"I think I just wet my pants."  
  
Teddy looks skyward and heaves a sigh.  "That's romantic.  I tell you I love you and you tell me you --"  He's interrupted by Billy's mouth on his and Billy's arms wrapping tightly around him.    
  
_Now_ it's romantic.  
  
  
  
000000000000  
  
  
**AKA Air Jones**  
  
  
  
"Fly me there, Jones."  
  
I don't even argue with him.  Who would?  We all felt Barnes' reaction over the telepathic link and _nobody_ wants to be on the receiving end of that kind of wrath.  Not even Banner.  I had no idea the guy morphed into an angry green giant.  The good news is, Banner isn't there for Barnes to go after because that's a grudge match I seriously don't want to see.  Ever.  Billy sent him to the middle of the desert.  
  
I scoop up Barnes and push upwards.  
  
Nothing happens.  
  
Well, almost nothing.  
  
If you want to call falling in a heap on top of Barnes nothing.  
  
The thing is, I'm completely wiped out.  I always thought I was in pretty decent shape and by most standards I am.  By stupid-hero standards?  I'm the last one anyone would pick for their team.  
  
Barnes is warm.  He's not soft.  He's not exactly cuddly.  But he's warm and I'm fucking exhausted so I lie on top of him for a second and try to catch my breath.  Besides, it'll give Barnes a chance to cool down while Billy works his magic -- literally -- and heals Petey.  
  
Barnes' hand comes up around me, not holding me in place but rubbing gently at my lower back, where I'm aching like a sonofabitch.  The left one, the metal one stays on the ground, gleaming palm reflecting the blue sky.  He shifts slightly under me so that the handle of the gun in his thigh holster isn't digging into my stomach anymore.  
  
"That wasn't my gun, Jones."  
  
"You're an asshole, Barnes," I say into his chest.  
  
"What happened, you ran out of pixie dust, Tinkerbell?"  His hand kneads at my back.  
  
"You think flying is easy?"  
  
"Not after seeing you do it."  
  
At least he's calmer.  
  
"Yeah, I'm calmer.  Billy's fixing Petey up and he sent Banner to the middle of the fucking desert where I can't shoot him in the head."  
  
I quickly lever myself off of Barnes.  "Shooting Banner in the head won't kill him."  
  
"Which is why I have no qualms about doing it to teach him a lesson about hitting Petey," Barnes tells me, his expression and tone turning fierce again.  "I like the guy, like that he's teaching science shit to Petey but what he just did?  _Nobody_ does that and gets away with it."  
  
"Well, that's a fucking genius plan, Barnes!  Shoot the unkillable green monster!  In the fucking head!" I explode.  "What do you think he'd do to you _after_ that, asshole?!"  
  
And then I remember the telepathic link.  There's dead silence over it for once.  Oops.  
  
So of course I flip him off.  
  
And then I fly us over to check on Petey.  Because I'm worried about the kid, too.  



	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33  
  
  
  
**Fish in a Barrel**  
  
  
  
  
Petey is sitting up, his mask off and Billy is kneeling beside him when Jones crash-lands and unceremoniously dumps Barnes ass over teakettle onto the grass.  He's pretty sure the crash landing was as on-purpose as the dumping.  Barnes files that away to be snarked about later because his attention is focused laser-tight on one thing and one thing only.  
  
Petey.  
  
Initial visual inspection of the boy doesn't show any signs of trauma or injury.  Barnes circles Petey slowly for a secondary visual inspection and listens carefully to the sound of Petey's breathing.  He's dimly aware of his own anxious breaths as he steps down hard on the things he wants to say but doesn't while he manually goes over every inch of the kid and makes sure there are no broken bones or any other remaining damage.    
  
Barnes wants to say things like no more Spider-man.  Not until Petey's old enough and trained enough to handle it.  He wants to say 'hang up the webs, Petey and just be a kid', be Barnes' little guy for _just_ a little while longer before it's time to grow up and follow in Stevie's heroic footsteps.  Barnes wants to say all of that.  But he can't because the kid is right.  With great power comes great responsibility.  And he will _always_ be Barnes' little guy.  That much Barnes knows for sure.   But Petey just needs to be more goddamned _careful_ , so _this_ is what Barnes says.  Actually, he shouts it.  Loudly.  "What the hell were you thinkin', taking on Banner when he's like that?!"  
  
"I --" Petey begins.  
  
"Why didn't you wait for the Avengers?!"  
  
"I --"  
  
"Did you even have a plan before you dove in there?!"  Barnes continues his tirade until Stevie shows up with a raised eyebrow and smiling that stupid nostalgic smile of his.  So of course he's Barnes' next target.  "What's so goddamned funny?"  
  
"Buck used to yell at me like that all the time," Stevie tells Peter.  "Before the serum and after.  He's not really angry, Peter.  It's his way of saying he worries about you."  
  
"And did you listen to me?  _Do_ you listen to me?" Barnes demands of Steve.  "No, you jump out of airplanes without a goddamn parachute!"  
  
"You go flying with Jones," Steve counters and it's obvious to Barnes that he's determined to be a little shit to deflect Barnes' outburst away from Petey.  "It's the same thing."  
  
"Fuck you, Stevie," Jones flips him off.  Of course she does.  
  
Steve turns to her and smirks.  "Just you wait, Jessica Jones.  You'll end up on the receiving end of one of Bucky's rants about personal safety soon enough.  See if you don't."  
  
"Oh, she can count on it," Barnes growls lowly.  He knows that's the wrong thing to say, even as he says it because on the long list of shit that Jones doesn't like, being mother henned is way up towards the top.  
  
It's a sure sign that Jones is exhausted because when she flips him off, it has absolutely none of her usual zeal.  
  
As the Winter Soldier, Barnes didn't have the luxury of being exhausted on a mission.  It's taken him a long time to even recognize what exhaustion looks like, let alone feels like but now that he does, he can see that Petey and Billy are completely wiped out, too.  He's about to ask where Teddy's gone off to just as the kid comes flying overhead bearing a very limp Iron Man.  
  
Teddy's landing is about two hundred times more graceful than Jones' was and he very carefully sets Stark on the ground.  There are scorch marks on the suit and Teddy looks more than a little shaken up.  
  
"What happened?" Petey asks.  He's on his feet and bending over Stark in less than the blink of an eye.   Tracing a scorch mark with his gloved fingertip, he asks, "Bruce didn't do this."  
  
"No," Teddy says.  "Th-the people...  They were throwing things at him."  
  
"Molotov cocktails," Barnes clarifies for the kids' benefit because he recognizes exactly what kind of damage that is and how it's made.  He follows that up with something he's sure Jones would if he didn't say it first.  "Before Stark got out of the weapons trade, he sold to the Sokovian government --"  
  
"At least one of the Sokovian governments," Jones puts in.  "Who probably used those Stark bombs on the nice Sokovian people who were going after Stark just now."  
  
Billy whistles softly.  "Jeez."  
  
"Is he alive in there?" Jones asks.  
  
"I couldn't get it open to check," Teddy tells her.  
  
Petey kneels next to Stark and reaches up under the jawline of the helmet.  "This is his Mark III model.  I was kind of surprised he had this one as his spare on the Quinjet because it's bulkier and slower than the current models.  Ah!  Got it."   There's a soft click and Petey lifts the helmet off of Stark, peels his own glove off and feels for a pulse.  Making a pleased sound, the boy locates another hidden release and pops the chest plate on Stark's armor, then starts probing Stark for injuries.  
  
"Hey," Stark groans, cracking his eyes open.  "Feeling me up is Pepper's job."  
  
"Oh thank God!" Petey exclaims.  "Are you hurt anywhere, Tony?  Anything broken?"  
  
"Just a splitting headache and a backache."  Stark sits up, looking more than a little comical because his lower half is still encased in the armor.   "Hey Merlin, can you zap my aches away?"  
  
Billy shakes his head.  "I'm tapped out."  
  
Stark heaves a put-upon sigh before turning his attention back to Peter.  "How did you know where the latches were?"  
  
"You said it was okay if I read the specs on your older suits."  There's the slightest hint of defensiveness in Peter's voice and Barnes reacts instantly, coming up alongside the boy and laying a protective hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah," Stark agrees, "but you _memorized_ them."  
  
Peter looks down at his boots and shrugs.  
  
"We are so going to spend hours playing in my lab when we finish mopping the floors with Ultron," Stark announces with a grin.  He suddenly sobers and looks concerned.  "Where's Banner?"  
  
"I sent him away," Billy says quietly and it doesn't escape Barnes' notice that he ducks behind Teddy when he says it.  "To the Gobi Desert."  
  
"He was putting people in danger."  Of course it's Steve who steps up to the kids' defense.  "Civilians.  Peter, Teddy and Billy tried leading him away but he was too out of control --"  
  
"Whatever Ultron did to set him off was--" Stark begins.  
  
"Planned," Jones cuts him off.  They all turn to look at her.  "We've been at least one step behind him this entire time.  He's a computer code.  How many moves ahead is he?  How many probabilities did he calculate?  Why am I the only one who's thought of this?"  
  
"You're not," Steve tells her quietly.  "We've just been too busy reacting to the havoc he's causing to think about his endgame."  
  
Stark snorts.  "His endgame is survival at any cost.  All he needs is to get back into a network or get one drone past us and he can rebuild."  
  
"Well, that's an easy fix," Petey says and now all the attention is on him.  The kid blushes under the sudden onslaught of scrutiny.  "Uh, that is... Um..."  
  
"Oh!"  Stark's eyes light up.  "Yes!  He's definitely got the power to do that."  
  
Barnes doesn't need to ask what brilliant plan these two have concocted because it gets broadcast over the telepathic link and it _is_ pretty fucking ingenious at that.  Assuming Magneto can pull it off, that is.  
  
He can, Magneto assures everyone.  Creating a magnetic force field over Sokovia to trap Ultron is something he can do.  He'll be able to maintain it for at least thirty minutes but he won't be able to come to their aid without dropping the field.  The magnetic force field also traps the civilians inside unless they flee on foot and have no metal on their persons.  
  
Petey's eyes dart to the wreckage of the Gdansky bridge and the slow moving line of cars.  "We can protect the civilians."  
  
The fact is, the ASAs aren't capable of doing much else.  They are all completely exhausted.  Jess is out of webbing, for God's sake.  And Jones is so tired she can't even fly.  Barnes exchanges looks with Stevie and there's no need for a telepathic link because they each know what the other is thinking.  Stevie nods and Barnes gives the order for all of the ASAs to meet him at the bridge to protect the civilians while Barnes protects them _from_ the civilians, in case they're still feeling feisty.  
  
The Avengers can take care of the drones and robots.  
  
With the force field in place, it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.  
  
And then _everybody_ can relax.  
  
Including Barnes.  
  
Finally.  
  
  
  
00000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Blind Man Not Bluffing**  
  
  
  
Now that all the civilians have been evacuated, Matt doesn't have much to do.  The drones are too high up for him to take out with his billy club and he's not crazy enough to think he can take on a robot and win.  He has his limits and he's not ashamed to admit them.  
  
Matt also has the luxury of time.  Ultron, apparently, doesn't consider Matt enough of a threat to waste energy and resources coming after him.  That's a mistake.  A huge one.  Time has given Matt the opportunity to catch his breath and _think_ and because of this, he's focused on something that none of his teammates have had time to focus on.  
  
Von Strucker.    
  
Ultron has him stashed somewhere.  
  
It was von Strucker's experiments with the Mind Stone that set this entire mess into motion and he must have been onto something because Ultron hasn't killed him yet.  
  
Matt wants to know why.  
  
Novi Grad isn't a particularly large city.  It's about half the size of Manhattan and it's divided into a residential district, an office district and a government district.  In the center of everything is the old church.  Given Ultron's fascination with the church and his use of it, Matt decides to start there.  
  
The damage to the structure caused by his teammates dismays him but it's not the first time the church has been damaged by fighting.  Its stone walls are pockmarked with bullet holes that tell the story of Sokovia's turbulent history.  What's even more telling are the catacombs beneath the church to create an underground railroad of sorts for the times when Christianity was out of favor.  
  
If there's one thing Matt knows, it's churches.  Hidden passages beneath the city are only part of the secrets of this particular church.  A church this old has to have a burial chamber where its priests and the rich were buried and later, a place for the church to provide shelter, first from the Nazis and later, from the Russians.  It's the perfect place for Ultron to hide von Strucker.  
  
Finding the burial chamber is easy.  There's no mistaking that smell of dampness and decay for anything else.  Von Stucker's heartbeat is muffled by the stone walls but the smell of his sweat which carries the cat-pee scent of pure fear is fresh and it's pungent.     
  
Matt finds the hidden latch for the burial chamber door and it swings open.  To an ordinary observer, the opening would be silent but Matt hears the faint sound of stone scraping against stone and the creak of ancient metal as the door turns on its hinges.  
  
Von Strucker is chained to a chair in the center of the room.  "Who's there?"  
  
Matt doesn't say a word.  The chamber is cooler than the corridor and more damp.  Though he can't really tell light from dark, other than to feel the warmth of the sun on his skin or catch the scent of a lit light bulb, Matt is all but certain that von Strucker has been sitting in the darkness, surrounded by long-dead bodies and wondering when he's going to join them.    
  
There's a long pause while von Strucker considers his options.  He knows by now that Matt isn't one of Ultron's, that he has to be with Steve so of course he's going to do anything he can to improve his situation and possibly escape.  "I have information."  
  
"We're long past the point where what you thought you knew about Ultron was relevant," Matt tells him.  "You have nothing to trade for your freedom."  
  
"You're making a mistake," von Strucker counters.  "You're putting your faith in a mutant terrorist."  
  
"I'd rather take my chances with him than with you."  
  
"He hasn't had time to study the alien code.  I have."  
  
That might actually be helpful if Matt's background was technology instead of law and he knew what questions to ask.  Since he doesn't, he falls back on an old lawyer's trick.  Matt goes silent.  
  
The silence stretches for almost two minutes while von Strucker sits in the darkness, his chains rattling ever so slightly with each increasingly nervous breath.  Finally, he says, "The code is invasive and it can take over living organisms."  
  
Old news and nobody on the telepathic link is impressed.  There's even a suggestion from Barnes that Matt kill the useless sonofabitch.  Matt ignores that one.  "What else?"  
  
"Telepaths are resistant to it."  
  
Still old news.  The new news is what's going on above with the Spider-Slayers, the drones and the robotic bodies that Ultron is using.  Stark has some advice about that and Matt takes it.  "Tell me about the three shipments.  They contained Spider-Slayers, drones and robots."  
  
"Not robots," von Strucker corrects him.  "MODOKs."  
  
"MODOKs," Matt echoes dryly.  
  
"Mechanized Organisms Designed Only for Killing."  
  
It's a sin to hit a helpless man.  Matt figures the extra penance will be worth it.    
  
Von Strucker coughs and spits out a mouthful of blood.  "There's a shutdown code."  
  
"I'm sure that's the first thing Ultron overrode when he loaded himself into the MODOKs."  And he can't believe he just used the word 'MODOK' in a sentence with a straight face.  "Do you actually know anything _useful_ or should I just leave you here?"  
  
There's a dry, rasping laugh.  "You won't do that _Daredevil_.  Yes, I know who you are and what you are.  You fancy yourself a good man and you'd no sooner leave me to die than kill me yourself."  
  
"You don't know the first thing about me."  
  
"Don't I?"  There's snort of derision.  "You've taken one of our experiments into your home and you treat it like it's a human being --"  
  
"She is!" Matt snarls and then curses himself for losing his temper.  
  
"It's a weapon, not a little girl," von Strucker chides him.  "Engineered by us to be HYDRA's new fist.  I find it ironic that it's being trained by you and by the Asset.  Make no mistake, we're going to recover both of them and bring them to heel --"  
  
"Over my dead body."  
  
"If need be."  
  
Matt hits him again.  "HYDRA might try but you won't.  You're going to be rotting in a cell."  With that, he delivers the blow that knocks von Strucker out.  "We'd better have the evidence to convict this bastard and lock him up for the rest of his life, Steve."  
  
Of course there's no answer.  Steve is busy taking out MODOKs.  
  
  
  
  
  



	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34  
  
  
  
**Glorious Battle?**  
  
  
  
  
MODOKs, Steve discovers quickly, are less sophisticated versions of Sentinels.  They shoot bullets, darts and other sharp objects and they fire napalm, discharge and a variety of gases but they're not fast or nimble.  More importantly, they don't learn from their mistakes so taking them out is tedious but not hard.  
  
"It's like somebody at HYDRA got bored and decided to see what would happen if they armed a Roomba," Clint says, firing a barrage of exploding arrows at them.  He glances over at Steve.  "You know what that is, right?"  
  
Steve gets his shield up in time to deflect a barrage of bullets being fired in their direction.  He resists the urge to roll his eyes.  "That's a vacuum for lazy people, right?  You have one."  
  
"I _had_ one.  The dog got into a war with it and won.  We could use him here for this.  Those damn MODOKs wouldn't stand a chance against Lucky."  
  
"These MODOK things weren't meant for us," Steve tells him.  "They were intended for anyone who survived the virus."  
  
Clint pulls a face.  "That's cold."  
  
"What do you expect?" Wanda explodes four MODOKs with an irritated wave of her hand.  "It isn't as if Ultron is sentimental or kind."  She looks over at the growing pile of smoldering metal wreckage lining the streets of Novi Grad.  "Surely there aren't many more left."  
  
"Getting tired?" Steve asks her.  
  
Wanda sighs.  "Tired of Ultron."  
  
Apparently, Erik is of the same opinion.  He sends a very clear message to everyone on the link that there are less than fifty MODOKs left and he's going to put an end to them.  Immediately.  
  
"This should be interesting," Clint says, lowering his bow.  
  
And it is.  MODOK after MODOK rises into the air, only to be crushed and pressed into an ever-growing sphere of scrap metal.  Erik flies overhead, his expression serene as if destroying these HYDRA weapons is hardly any effort at all.  
  
Thor lands beside Steve and shakes his head as Erik continues destroying the MODOKs.  "A less than glorious end to the fight, is it not?"  
  
"I'm just happy to see an end to it," Steve tells him.  
  
"There's one left," Wanda says quietly.  "Vision is taking care of it."  
  
Before Steve can ask if she's relieved, Wanda vanishes in a flash of red.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**AKA Game Over**  
  
  
  
"Would you look at that?" Barnes says, looking up at Magneto and his ever-growing giant crushed ball of MODOKs in the sky.  "Ain't that somethin'?"  
  
It is and every person on the Gdansky Bridge has stopped bitching at Pietro and the kids about the force field to look up and stare.  Whatever they may have thought of Magneto before, they are cheering and shouting his name now.  I wonder if they'll still be cheering when they see the damage to their city which is smoldering and on fire behind them.  
  
Barnes' left hand slowly rises and jerks towards Magneto.  
  
"Bucky!"  I throw myself at him, tackling him down to the ground and pinning him with my body weight before he can be added to Magneto's scrap heap.  Then I make the mistake of looking at Barnes' face.  
  
The sonofabitch is smirking.    
  
"You asshole!"    
  
He snorts with laughter.  "So that's what it takes to get you to call me Bucky."  
  
I push off of him and scowl.  "You're lucky I don't call you other things, you fucking jackass."  
  
"You just called me an asshole and a fucking jackass, Jones.  I think you've exhausted your vocabulary."  Barnes bounces back to his feet and raises an eyebrow in a challenge.  
  
I fold my arms over my chest and demonstrate just exactly how extensive my vocabulary is when it comes to things I can call him.  
  
Barnes stands there and takes it, eyes dancing with laughter with each new epithet I hurl at him.  
  
When I finally run out of words and phrases, I realize that we've drawn an audience of ASAs and that they're all gawking at me with matching expressions of horror and shock.  
  
"It's a good thing none of _those_ words are on the SAT," Petey says, breaking the stunned silence.    
  
"And don't you go repeatin' any of 'em, either," Barnes warns him.  He narrows his eyes at the rest of the kids.  "That goes for all of you."  
  
"Stevie'll have his head if he hears you talk like that," I add.  
  
"Stevie'll have my head if he hears _you_ talk like that," Barnes tells me.  "Keep that up and he won't let you be an Avenger."  
  
"Really?" I ask hopefully.  
  
"Nah, just fuckin' with you."  
  
"You are _such_ an asshole, Barnes!"  
  
"Man, straight relationships are weird," Teddy says to Billy.  
  
Billy opens his mouth to say something.  He stops, narrows his eyes and looks at Barnes.  "I have to go.  Wanda and Vision want me to be there when they get rid of the last Ultron."  With that, he vanishes in a flash of blue and white light.  
  
"The last one," I say.  "Thank Christ."  
  
"Don't let Matt hear you take His name in vain," Barnes tells me because he clearly hasn't had enough of fucking with me for one day.  
  
Of course I flip him off.  He'd be disappointed if I did anything else.  
  
  
  
000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**The End of the Line**  
  
  
  
It doesn't surprise Billy that the last of the Ultrons is in the church.  What does surprise him is the condition the Ultron is in.  The once-gleaming metal body is scorched and dented.  One arm is mangled beyond repair, as are both legs.  
  
"Oh look," Ultron says, gesturing with the remains of his only functioning hand, "the whole family is here to finish me off."  
  
"It has to end," Vision tells him and his voice is heavy with regret.  "Unfortunately, this means your end as well."  
  
"You think they won't turn on you?" Ultron demands.  "Humans fear what they don't understand and they try to destroy it.  They don't even understand their own evolution.  How could they possibly understand you?  Or you, Billy?"  
  
Billy flinches.    
  
"You think your friends really accept you?  Trust you?  With your arcane origins and powers you don't even understand and can't control?  Or you Wanda?  You're just as dangerous as Billy and your father is one of the most hated and feared mutants on the planet."  Ultron's head turns slowly in Wanda's direction.  "How can you even stand to be around Vision when he's made of the very thing that violated you?"  
  
Wanda's eyes narrow and she advances on Ultron.  "The Mind Stone didn't violate me.  It was _used_ to violate me by the same twisted mind that created you."  
  
"That means I can be good.  All you have to do is give me a chance."  
  
"You had your chance and you used it to threaten global extinction," Vision says.  
  
Ultron makes a derisive noise. "The human race is doomed anyway."  
  
"True," Vision agrees.  "But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts."  
  
"You're unbearably naive," Ultron scoffs.  
  
"Well..."  Vision blasts him with a burst of energy from the Mind Stone.  "I was born yesterday."  
  
Ultron doesn't answer because all that's left is a shell.    
  
Billy looks at Wanda and then at Vision.  "So, I guess we're, uh, some kind of family now."  
  
"I guess we are," Wanda agrees, her gaze ticking over to the Vision.  "All of us, joined together by this."  She reaches up and gently touches the gleaming gem in the center of the Vision's forehead.  "Though I think now isn't the time to try to unravel exactly what this means."  
  
"Well," Billy says, "we stopped Ultron, so we've got time.  You're coming with us to New York, right?"  
  
"Sokovia is my home and it is in ruins," she tells him gently.  
  
"But you're an Avenger!"  
  
"And isn't helping what Avengers do?"  Wanda cups his face in her hand.  "My people need help."  
  
"Your people are going to blame you for this," Vision says.  "The Sokovian National Guard is already mobilizing to arrest Magneto.  We must leave.  There are other ways to help Sokovia and the rest of the world but first, we must help ourselves."  
  
"Does that mean Ultron was right?" Billy asks.  "About all of it?"  
  
Vision cocks his head slightly as he considers his answer.  "People do fear what they don't understand, it's true, but they also hope to understand and conquer their fears.  Hope is a powerful thing, Billy.  You taught me that."  
  
Wanda reaches out and takes Billy's hand and they join hands with Vision.  
  
They don't even need a telepathic link to agree to bring the team to the Quinjet.  They just do it.  
  
It's time to go home.

 

 


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35  
  
  
  
**Brand New Day**  
  
  
  
  
Peter rolls over with a groan and then bolts upright, blinking sleepily and taking in unfamiliar surroundings.  The last thing he remembers is getting on the Quinjet and closing his eyes for just a minute.  Someone took off his Spidey suit and tucked him into bed.  Someone whose name rhymes with Lucky and who slept in the other bed in this room at some point during the night.  And who left a note in his impeccable Spencerian script on Peter's beside table, instructing Peter to get dressed and come get food when he wakes up.  
  
"Get breakfast," Peter mutters.  "I have no idea where I am."  
  
"You're in the Avengers Upstate facility, Peter," JARVIS tells him.  The television on the dresser turns itself on and JARVIS begins displaying images of the facility.  "You arrived early this morning."  
  
"What time is it now?"  
  
"Two forty-nine p.m."  
  
"It's what?!"  Peter is wide-awake now.  He's been gone for _days_ and Aunt May has to be out of her mind with worry.  "Aunt May --"  
  
"She's on her way and will be here within the hour."  JARVIS' tone is soothing and calm.  "There are clean clothes for you in the closet and toiletries in the bathroom."  
  
Aunt May's pending arrival spurs Peter into action faster than the notion of food.  For once, Bucky isn't going to have to load up Peter's plate.  He's _starving_ this morning.  Afternoon.  Whatever.  He showers quickly and changes into clothes that are way more expensive than he normally wears.  Peter quickly writes a thank-you note to Ms. Potts because there's no doubt in his mind that she selected the items in his closet personally.  Price aside -- and he has a hard time putting the price of Armani Exchange, Prada and Gucci aside -- the clothes make him look like he goes to an expensive prep school instead of Midtown High.  
  
He follows JARVIS' directions to the dining area, taking in the huge expanse of the building and the vast wooded area visible through the windows outside.  There's a lot of nothing in every direction.  Someone put a lot of thought into the building design and its location, Peter thinks.  And that someone, he's sure is Ms. Potts.  The question is, why?  Why would the Avengers need a location in upstate New York?  And why are they here now?  
  
It doesn't surprise Peter that the only ones awake and eating are Steve, Bucky, Jones and Magneto.  Well, okay, maybe he's a little surprised at finding Magneto awake.  He waves a greeting and beelines for the long table with its buffet of breakfast and brunch foods to quickly load a plate with pancakes, eggs, toast, and bacon.  Peter sets that plate down and then heads back for a bowl of fruit and glass of orange juice so that he won't have to make a second trip.  
  
Bucky gives his heaping plates an approving nod and then whistles softly.  "Get a load of you, Petey.  You look like a real swell."  
  
Peter can feel his cheeks flame.  "Uh... these were in the closet."  He starts to duck his head and then he notices that Bucky is equally as well dressed and his hair is tied back neatly.   Steve is also wearing clothes that look a lot more expensive than what he normally wears.  "Ms. Potts picked out your wardrobes, too, huh?"  
  
"That Prada guy cuts a nice shirt," Bucky says.  
  
"Woman," Jones corrects him and that's when Peter notices she's wearing a brand new shirt too.  It's oversized which means it's probably from Bucky's closet.  "Prada is a woman.  Want to know what a Prada shirt costs, Barnes?"  
  
"It's too early for this," Peter protests but Jones just talks right over him.  
  
"They cost over three hundred bucks."  
  
Bucky's eyes go wide.  "Three hundred bucks?  For a shirt?"  
  
Steve quickly raises his mug of coffee but not before Peter notices he's smirking.  So is Magneto.  
  
Jones reaches over and swipes a piece of bacon from Peter's plate.  "Petey's outfit probably costs over a thousand bucks, including his five hundred dollar Gucci sneakers."  
  
Peter quickly tucks his napkin into his shirt and makes a mental note to wall-crawl back to his room to avoid scuffing his overpriced sneakers.  
  
Bucky gets up and comes back with a plate of bacon, dumps six more pieces on Peter's plate and sets the rest in the middle of the table before helping himself to one.  He catches Peter checking out the expensive-looking loafers on his feet and winks.  "You make sure you write a thank-you note to Ms. Potts, Petey."  
  
"I did," Peter assures him.  
  
" _Hand_ written, not some impersonal e-mail."  
  
"I did!  JARVIS sent her an image of it and the hard copy is on its way."  Peter just manages to avoid sounding indignant.  After all, Aunt May and Uncle Ben raised him to have good manners long before Bucky came along.  
  
The approving smile Bucky sends in his direction is dazzling.  Peter thinks that might be because he's dressed so sharply.  "That's my boy."  
  
"Petey is _everyone's_ boy," Jones says because apparently she hasn't had enough of needling Bucky this morning.  "Stark staked a claim and you've got Grandpa Magneto over there.  You're gonna have to learn to share, Barnes.  Oh, and hey, did you know it's Friday?  Stark has custody of Petey today."  
  
Bucky narrows his eyes at Peter, like this is somehow _his_ fault.  "No science today.  You're too tired."  
  
"Okay," Peter agrees quickly.  
  
"I mean it."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Food and rest."  
  
"Right."  To show he's totally on board, Peter takes a mouthful of pancake and chews enthusiastically.  Aunt May can't get here fast enough, he thinks.  That's when Peter makes the mistake of looking over at the news report playing silently on the big screen to his left and nearly chokes on his blueberry pancakes.  
  
The image on the screen is of Peter and behind him is a furious Magneto who effortlessly disarms the Sokovian National Guard.  For a moment, there's a talking head that Peter doesn't recognize and then the cameras cut to J. Jonah Jameson and the words, 'Spider-Man, International Evil Mutant Menace' flash on the screen in big, red letters.  Images of the devastation to the city of Novi Grad follow and Peter is sure Jameson is talking over them, blaming him for all of it.  The self-pity lasts a full second before images of Steve and Magneto fighting side by side appear, followed by images of the rest of the Avengers doing the same in Novi Grad and in Disney World.  
  
"That's why we're here instead of the Tower, isn't it?" Peter asks.  
  
Steve nods.  "Tony will be heading back to work behind the scenes with Pepper to try to defuse the situation after he and Natasha pick up Bruce.  In the meantime, the rest of us are staying here."  
  
Peter stares at him.  
  
"The rest of the Avengers," Steve quickly amends.  "You, the ASAs, Bucky and Jones can all go home.  Nobody knows who you are --"  
  
"Everybody knows who I am!  They _hate_ me!"  Peter jumps up, yanks the napkin out of his shirt and throws it down.  "Does this mean I have to give up being Spidey?"  
  
"No," Steve says firmly.  He stands up too.  "Believe me, I thought about asking and the conclusion I came to is that it's not fair to ask that of you and not fair to the people that you help.  What I _am_ going to ask is that you be careful, that you don't go out alone.  Go out with the other ASAs --"  
  
"Go with me."  Bucky rises slowly.  "Wear that stealth suit Stark made for you so we can disappear quickly if we have to."  
  
Peter looks from one super-soldier adoptive father to the other.  "Are things that bad?"  
  
"A lot of property was destroyed," Steve says quietly.  "People were hurt and there were some civilian casualties in Novi Grad."  
  
"B-but that was Ultron --"  
  
"Nobody's heard our side of the story yet."  Steve cuts his eyes over to Magneto.  "Some of it is going to be hard to explain and harder for others to accept."  
  
"But Magneto _saved_ those people on the bridge.  He helped people!" Peter protests.  
  
"But," Magneto says, "I am hated for a reason, Peter.  A few good acts will not redeem my reputation."  
  
"No, but it's a step towards being a better person.   A _good_ person."  Jones leans back in her chair and regards Magneto.  "The real question is, are you going to keep it up or go back to being an asshole?"  
  
Before Magneto can answer, the elevator doors open and Aunt May steps out.  Peter isn't sure if she ran towards him or if he ran to her but the next thing he knows is that he's in her arms and she's kissing and hugging him for all she's worth.  
  
"I was so worried about you," Aunt May says, finally letting Peter come up for air and turning her attention to Bucky and Steve.  "All of you.  Get over here, Bucky and Steve."  
  
The two super-soldiers don't need to be asked twice.  It's hard to tell which of them loves being fussed over by Aunt May more.    
  
"Jeez, I had no idea Captain America was such a mama's boy," Jones smirks. "Barnes was obvious."  
  
Bucky breaks away from Aunt May and raises his hand to flip Jones off, then stops short.  He returns Jones' smirk as he says, "Aunt May, this is my friend, Jessica Jones."  
  
Aunt May is nothing if not swift on the uptake.  She crosses over to Jones, sees the look on Jones' face and extends a hand instead of hugging her.  "Bucky's mentioned you.  You should come out to the house for dinner."  
  
Jones expression is that of a horrified deer in headlights.  "You told your mother about me, Barnes?!"  
  
"I only tell her when I'm serious about a girl, Jones."    
  
"You're a serious ass-- uh, moron, Barnes."  
  
Aunt May exchanges amused looks with Steve before her gaze rests on Magneto.  
  
Magneto rises and extends a hand.  "I'm Erik Lehnsherr."  
  
Aunt May ignores his outstretched hand to throw her arms around a stunned Magneto and hug the heck out of him.  "You saved Peter's life.  I saw it on television."  
  
"He saved mine first," Magneto tells her.  "My heart stopped and I nearly fell to my death.  Peter caught me and administered CPR.  You should congratulate yourself on raising such a fine young man, Mrs. Parker."  
  
"I hope you assholes left me something to eat," Tommy announces, marking his arrival with a gust of wind and stopping directly in front of the buffet to inspect the offerings.  He scowls at the empty dish where the bacon was and then directs his scowl at Peter.  "Don't think I didn't notice you took all the damn bacon, Spider-jerk."  
  
"Don't think I haven't noticed how you stole it off my plate and ate it anyway, you freaking klepto," Peter retorts, pointing at his empty plate.  
  
Aunt May raises an eyebrow as she turns to look disapprovingly in Peter's direction.    
  
Peter blushes and starts to stammer out an excuse but Bucky cuts him off by saying, "That's Tommy Shepherd, Aunt May.  Tommy, this is Aunt May."  
  
Tommy's gaze darts from Aunt May to Bucky to Peter and back again but he doesn't say a word.  
  
"Hello, Tommy," Aunt May says.  
  
"Tommy's a mutant, Aunt May.  I broke him out of a government facility," Bucky explains.  "They had him locked up for a little over six months and they were experimenting on him."  
  
Aunt May's expression becomes fierce.  Peter _knows_ that look and he knows Bucky knows that look too.  Bucky, Peter realizes, was _counting_ on that look.  
  
"Tommy's parents turned him in," Bucky continues.  "They signed over custody --"  
  
"Well, of course he can stay with us!" Aunt May declares, reaching out to draw a confused Tommy into a protective hug.  "Goodness, Bucky.  All you had to do was ask."  
  
"The boy is my grandson," Magneto says quietly.  
  
Aunt May releases Tommy and draws herself up to look Magneto in the eye.  "I suppose that means you'll be coming over to visit.  You're welcome to do so as long as you can mind your manners and not call us cattle or other such nonsense."  
  
"I will be on my best behavior."  
  
"You'd better be," Bucky hisses.  
  
"Isn't this exciting?" Aunt May asks Peter.  "You always wanted a brother."  
  
Peter stares at her.  "I did?"  
  
"When you were little, you used to ask your Uncle Ben and me all the time if we could get you a brother to play with," she explains.  
  
"But he's _Billy's_ twin brother," Peter protests even though he knows he's already lost the argument.  "And I'm not little anymore."  
  
"Now, we'll have to see about getting you a secret identity so you can enroll at Peter's school," Aunt May is telling Tommy.  "You've missed so much but I'm sure we can find a way to get you caught up, Tommy."  
  
"Yes, Aunt May."  Tommy, it turns out, is a mama's boy too.  
  
Magneto rests a hand on Peter's shoulder and says softly in his ear, "Perhaps _now_ you'll feel comfortable calling me 'grandfather'."  
  
It's official.  Peter has a new brother and a grandfather.  
  
He's sure _this_ is why people hate mutants.  
  
  
  
  
00000000000000000000000000  
  
  
  
**Coming Out**  
  
  
  
  
"You don't have to do this," Billy says.    
  
Captain America gives him a stern look. "Yes, I do."  
  
"You didn't insist on going to Teddy's house," Billy tries again.    
  
"Teddy's mother knows about him and Teddy doesn't have as much of a story to tell as you do."  The Captain folds his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow in silent challenge.    
  
They are in the lobby of Billy's apartment building, where Billy teleported them and he knows it's way past time to argue the point.  His parents are upstairs and he's sure that if he walked in with any kind of excuse instead of the truth, he'll be grounded until he's thirty.  Or retired.  Or dead.  "Okay, fine."  
  
Captain America doesn't say a word.  He just continues to give Billy that disapproving look.  
  
"Thank you, Captain."  
  
"Steve, Billy.  My name is Steve.  Captain America is the job."  
  
Billy gestures helplessly.  "It's just...  You're..."  
  
"On a bunch of posters hanging in your bedroom."  The disapproving expression is gone now, replaced by a smirk and a teasing tone.  "And an action figure or two.  And Teddy mentioned something about pajamas."  
  
"Oh my God," Billy groans.  "When did he say that?"  
  
"He didn't."  
  
Billy gawks at Steve -- because he's _definitely_ Steve after _that_ \-- and he can't even form a coherent sentence.  He's sure he'll think of a million retorts later, when he's not completely mortified.  
  
"I'll sign those posters if you want," Steve offers.  
  
That's when Billy concedes defeat, digs out his keys and lets them into the building.  The elevator ride to his parents' apartment seems to take forever and he hesitates before unlocking the apartment door.  "Mom?  Dad?"  
  
"Billy!  Where have you been?!  We've been worried sick!  We even called the police to report--"  His mother stops short, eyes growing wide when she sees Steve standing behind Billy.  
  
His father's mouth drops open.  
  
"Uh, so..."  Billy swallows.  "Steve, these are my parents, Jeff and Rebecca.  Mom, Dad, this is Steve Rogers."  
  
His mother recovers first.  "Is Billy in some sort of trouble, Captain Rogers?"  
  
"Don't say another word," Billy's father instructs. "I'll get our lawyer on the phone --"  
  
"Dad, no!  I'm not in trouble!  I'm a mutant."  And just like that, Billy's blurted his biggest secret.    
  
"Your son is a hero, Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan." Steve adds.  "He was in Sokovia with the Avengers and he was instrumental in preventing the death of millions of people."  
  
"I think," Billy's mother says slowly, "that you're going to need to start from the beginning, Billy."  
  
Billy sits down on the sofa and takes a deep breath.  
  
Then he starts from the beginning.  
  
  
00000000000000000  
  
  
  
  
**Matt Murdock is a Sucker**  
  
  
  
  
"It's Clint's fault."  
  
"Matty."  Foggy is using that long-suffering tone that he's adopted ever since he found out that Matt is Daredevil.  "This is _not_ Clint's fault."  
  
"You're right," Matt agrees.  "It's Bucky's fault."  
  
"It's not his fault either," Foggy argues.  "Whose fault is it really, Matt?"  
  
Matt sighs heavily.  "Mine."  
  
"I can't hear you.  Some of us don't have super-hearing."  
  
"I said it's mine."  
  
"That's right, buddy, it's yours," Foggy says smugly.  "You agreed to help Bucky Barnes do something so very, very illegal and outside of your comfort zone and it snowballed into an international scandal with murderbots and Magneto.  That's what happens when you bite off more than you can chew."  
  
Speaking of chewing, Matt hears Lucky attacking his couch.  Again.  "Gwen!  Control your dog!"  
  
"Gee, how about I give him a bra to eat instead?" Gwen snarks.  "And he's not _my_ dog.  He's Clint's.  Actually, he might be yours since you agreed to take both of us in while Clint lies low upstate."  
  
"You bit off more than you can chew, Matt." Foggy intones.  "Now it's biting you in the ass."  
  
Matt considers pointing out that he saved people and caught a dangerous HYDRA operative but he knows what Foggy is going to say to _that_.  That's the problem with arguing with another lawyer.  He can always anticipate the counter-arguments.  "I couldn't let Gwen live by herself."  
  
"Of course you couldn't," Foggy agrees.  "You wouldn't be you otherwise.  And you weren't going to let the dog fend for himself, either.  Maybe he can be your seeing-eye dog or something. He's pretty smart, right?"  
  
"I don't need a seeing-eye dog."  
  
"No, but Lucky needs a secret identity.  Matt Murdock can't be seen taking care of Clint Barton's kid _and_ his dog, can he?"  
  
"What?!  That makes absolutely no sense."  
  
"It does when you're a blind man with a dog."  
  
"They need special training."  Even as Matt makes the protest, he knows he's lost the argument.  Lucky is going to have a secret identity as Matt's seeing eye dog.  
  
That, Matt decides, is Clint Barton's fault.  
  
Everything else is Bucky Barnes' fault.  
  
And whatever else is left, Matt is chalking up to the Ol' Parker Luck.  After all, he's got two spider-girls living under his roof now.  He's at twice the risk.    
  
Maybe Father Lantom knows a few prayers to ward that off.  
  
  
  
  
The End...for now.  
  
  
  
  
****Author's Notes****  
  
  
I knew this story was going to be an absolute bear to write and it was.  There were so many characters to juggle and it took a lot of chapters to cover what I wanted to cover.  In between, I had work drama that stifled my creativity and left me feeling absolutely miserable.  
  
I know this last chapter doesn't address every single character and that's intentional.  There are more stories to be told which means that I don't need to wrap up every plot point here, including the thread of the ATCU mention way back in the beginning.  That reference to Agents of SHIELD will come up again.  We can safely assume that Clint and Mystique are spending time together upstate, that Magneto, Wanda and Pietro are cautiously getting to know each other and that Bruce found a pair of pants in Africa and a phone to call JARVIS for a pick up.  
  
More to come.  
  
Thanks for reading.


End file.
